I was at a get-together tonight, and someone I didn't know started talking to me, and they asked me who I was going to vote for - when I told them I didn't like their favorite candidate, and that I would rather vote for _(insert candidate from opposite partisan group here)_, their friendly demeanor turned icy in a heart-beat, and they were off to talk to someone else in less than two seconds. Well! If that's the way they want to be! That got me thinking .. huh, I bet this is why there's that rule about not talking about politics in lodge.
I'm sure the person I was talking to (however briefly) and I would have gotten along quite well enough, but the wedge of politics was driven between us before we could start a decent conversation. Does it really matter who we are going to vote for? Very few people share all the views of any political candidate, and so who they choose to vote for is merely a matter of their impressions and what they have read and what party they belong to. But, even in the party *I* belong to, I totally disagree with some of the candidates (like the one this person was advocating), as well as agree with a few of the candidates in the other camps.
Instead of focusing on dividing ourselves into different groups and viewpoints, we should get together and talk about what should be done to fix our problems. We all agree that there ARE problems, we just disagree about how to fix them. Just remember, no matter what any of the candidates SAY, the only way to change things is through each community.
I always think, when looking through the news during a major election... "wow, I wonder what kind of amazing things could be done with x amount of million dollars that is just being wasted... parks, schools, jobs ..."
Masonry is one place where this community service can start. Of course, anything of that sort needs to involve the whole community before it can really make a difference. Keeping the instant divisions that politics tend to create out of the lodge allows its members to ACT! where none of the political parties will never succeed.
So, next time someone asks you - So who are you voting for? think twice before answering.
Final Ceramics Post
12 years ago