Heat and politics

It's hot.  We are talking flower-wilting, sweat-inducing, fry-an-egg-on-the-sidewalk, miserable kind of hot.

The only tolerable time of day is early in the morning. As the sun comes up between 5 and 5 a.m., until  7:30-ish, it is possible to be outside and not feel as if one is about to suffocate.

109 in our little 'burb on Friday, an all-time record. I'm staying in.

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I don't write much about politics here anymore. Looking back over four years of blog posts, I can see that I used to weigh in on politics more than I do now.  I wrote a number of political pieces during the last presidential election.

I am still a political junkie of sorts, with great interest in the political process, but for the most part these days I keep my opinions to myself.

It's a policy that has evolved over the years -- one that has, obviously, changed a good bit even since starting this blog.  I used to be almost always willing to enter into political interaction and also willing to express my opinion without hesitation.

Today I shy away from those discussions, other than to make comments of a general nature. I don't display yard signs and/or bumper stickers.

I'll periodically write about politics in my column but I made a decision early on, after getting that gig, that I would make observations rather than voice opinions. 

I came to this place for a number of reasons. Some of them are:

-- I was getting way too emotional about it.  I didn't feel good after heated political discussions.

-- I would often voice opinions without having all the facts.

-- As far as possible, I want to be at peace with all. Debating politics was not getting me there.

-- Too many times I would equate my political views with Christianity. Although my faith is very important to me and plays a part in every part of my life, including my political views, I know that there is room for disagreement and differences of opinion among Christians. Jesus is not Republican or Democrat (as much as many in each camp would like to call him a member), liberal or conservative. There are some Gospel passages that would make him out to be both, by today's standards. In some ways he was radical and I want to be radical as he was, but I don't want to ascribe a label to him.
 
There's really  more to it than that but those four bullet points represent a large part of where I am today.

I have no problem with people who still enjoy a good political discussion or debate. In fact I welcome it, because those opinions inform me and give me food for thought.

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With all of that said, I do have some feelings about the Supreme Court's heath care decision that was just handed down.  I'm going to mull over it a few more days, then come back and express some of those thoughts. Stay tuned.