Hey, Leaders of This Country

I'm not talking to the politicians right now.

I'm not talking to the President, the VP, the Senate or House or any Federal politicians.

I'm not talking to the State or Local Governments, either.

I'm talking to YOU.

I have voted in every election since I became of age to do so.  I don't recall that hate being so strong as it has been in the last 3 elections.

If we expect our leaders to "cross the aisle," don't we have to do the same thing?

I have family that I love and they vote differently than I do.  They hold different values from my own.  I can't possibly love them less because of it.  I might wonder at the workings of their brain... I want to know what drives them to believe what they do.  But I can't and won't love them less for voting for someone that I didn't vote for.

And because I love them, I seek not to harm them, not to hurt them.  If I start posting pictures of Big Bird saying "F You" to Mitt Romney, I risk hurting my family.

I have very dear friends, friends who are practically family, friends who are my God-given family, and they have different beliefs from my own.  But I also see how these people love others, how they love me and love my kids... and I know I can't stop loving them just because they lean in a different political direction from my own.

And because I love them, I seek not to harm them, not to hurt them.  If I post crass messages about rape, I risk hurting my friends.

There is a definite place for passion about politics.

But I think we have to step up and be the leaders our country needs.

The politicians, no matter which party they are affiliated with, aren't truly looking out for the people of this country.  The politicians are all saying whatever the crowd wants to hear at that time.  They say and do the best they can with what they have, standing in the beliefs of their party, swayed by lobbyists, corporations, and other countries.

The politicians are not our leaders.

The people are our leaders.  We are the People.

It doesn't matter who is President, it doesn't matter who my Senator is.  The choices I make to support other people will remain the same.  The beauty of this country is that the President can't decide that for me - I am still in control of how I reach out to others, how I support my local school, how I feed the poor or tend to the sick.

There was a lot of crap being tossed about on Facebook and Twitter last night and today.  Some of it was very hurtful, some was very hopeful.

I was touched by a young man who posted a thank you to those who voted to protect his rights.  He's gay and seeing the country continue to be led by someone who believes in equal rights and seeing states in this country vote to defend or extend rights to him is something deeply personal.  It's something most of us can't truly grasp or comprehend - the feeling of knowing that millions of people would prefer you don't exist, think you're choosing sin, think you shouldn't have what "we" have and then having a demonstration of the opposite.  Seeing through an election that his voice does matter and that there are millions of voices like his that stand up for him, stand alongside him.

I was hurt by someone who posted a "funny" letter to Iran, asking them to point their nuclear weapons at Ohio.  Where my family lives, where I'm from, the state right next door to where I live.  "First, do no harm."  When jokes are intended to cause harm, they aren't funny.  Given what we can see happening in New York and New Jersey in the aftermath of Sandy and the arrival of the nor-easter... I don't see how anyone can make jokes about destruction.

I was annoyed by posts that over-celebrated Obama's re-election in such a way that insulted anyone who supported Romney.

I was hurting for friends who felt attacked by others who accused them of being against human rights or being against women's rights because they are Republicans.

A common theme I see starting to crop up on both sides is that we have to support and respect our leaders, even if "our guy" didn't win.  That we have to pray for our leaders and our government no matter what the election results.

I agree.  But I also disagree.

We, the People.  
In order to form a more perfect Union.
Establish Justice.
Insure domestic tranquility.
Provide for the common defence.
Promote the general welfare.
Secure the blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity (future generations).

As citizens of the USA, we need to focus on that Preamble.  Different parties have different understandings of what the Constitution means and says and how it holds up.  But if we, the people, hold up that Preamble to the Constitution in all that we do, in all that we seek... we will be the leaders, we will lead the politicians, we will discover what we all have in common.

While we pray for our leaders and while we hold them accountable through our election process, we all have to be willing to step up and do something about our passions and do something about our convictions.

We, the People.
More Perfect Union.
Establish Justice.
Insure Tranquility.
Provide for Defence.
Promote General Welfare (the concern of the government for the health, peace, morality, and safety of the citizens)
Secure Liberty (have control over your own actions) for us and for our kids and grandkids.

Union. Justice. Tranquility. Defence. Welfare. Liberty.

We, the People.  Not "Them, the Politicians."