How will you take your poison?

 “One of they key problems today is that politics is such a disgrace. Good people don’t go into government.” ~ Donald Trump

If you're American you probably don't want to read this post.  

The ugly truth is that other nations have never thought as highly of America as Americans have thought of themselves.  As a general thing.  Individual Americans may be globally aware but generally they have appeared not.  Rather they have appeared arrogant, brash, & woefully ignorant, even of their own history, let alone anyone else's.

For years the MOTH & I laughed about the American couple in our carriage as we climbed the Jungfrau.  He was small & mousey.  She was big & loud.  Amongst the Japanese rushing from side to side with their multiple cameras [yep, there's a reason for these cultural stereotypes!] they stood out.  Her voice rose above the clacking wheels & the rattling trundle of carriages swaying up a steep Swiss mountainside with a nasal twang: Peter, take a picture of this. Peter, take a picture... If you were American it was excruciatingly embarrassing.  Everyone else was both highly entertained or embarrassed for them.  It merely confirmed our worst opinions of Americans. 

The really sad part is what happened later. I might have considered Peter & his bride a sad anomaly except for the young man I met outside the Australian embassy in London.  He had been on the continent for several years & had completely lost whatever accent he had once had.  His accent was so unaccented it was impossible to even hazard a guess as to what part of the world he had originated from. For someone so completely introverted I have a wonderful coping mechanism in these situations: I am never going to see these people again in my life so I can afford to be open & chatty & curious.  So I asked ~ & was completely flummoxed when he slithered away from my questions. Eventually I garnered he had learned the hard way that Americans are not so highly regarded by many people as they like to think.  His lesson was so thorough he had worked super hard to loose anything that identified him as American & was embarrassed to have to admit he was American ~ though he had not stooped to identifying as Canadian as so many others I met did.

So American politics at present is giving the rest of the world a huge laugh.  Australia got Pauline Hanson for our sins; America got both Trump & Clinton.

I have many, many American friends ~ though I may have a good many fewer after this post~ who are smart, & funny, & educated & nearly all of them have been temporarily blocked on my FB page until after their election.  I have been distressed that people I thought were calm, reasonable, articulate human beings have reverted to being rabid name~callers over differences of opinions  in this electoral campaign. Some sugar coat their opinions but not enough that their opinion of those that differ is that that are idiots about to send their country down the gurgler.

I was appalled enough by our own politics this election.  For the first time ever I had to pay more than cursory attention to all candidates because for a Christian the stakes were incredibly high. Sadly I have been subjected to a deluge of American politics as well ~ & so I have formed an opinion.  

Frankly, I think both candidates are disgraceful. One is crude, rude & vulgar.  The other is an unindicted criminal. That being said I think the choice is actually fairly simple for Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus ~ actually anyone of faith at all & anyone at all who values freedom of thought & speech because Clinton is on record as stating she wants religious beliefs changed. Here is the quote:

All the laws we've passed don't count for much if they're not enforced. Rights have to exist in practice, not just on paper. Laws have to be backed up with resources and political will. And deep seated cultural codes, religious beliefs and structural biases have to be changed.

The context was the keynote address at the annual Women in the World Summit in New York City & yes, the woman was addressing numerous issues that affect women. However I find her thought process incredibly frightening.  In effect she believes in controlling what people think, how they think it & what they do with that thinking. Do I agree with much of what happens to women in this world? Absolutely not!  Do I think changing our laws is going to change that?  Nope! People will continue to do as they think.  This is incredibly evident in Western areas with large muslim populations: Burkas, Sharia, polygamy, child brides...all happen though the laws of the country forbid it all. People change from the inside out or nothing really changes & this is, in fact, what Christianity teaches.

It would also seem Clinton is less liberal  than she would have people believe: Link

Sadly, whether I like it or not, the person my American friends elect in November becomes the unofficial leader of the Western world.  It seems to have come down to which poison you will drink yet from a Christian viewpoint I remember that Lot was promised that for 10 righteous men God would spare Sodom. Sodom did not have 10 righteous men ~ but I believe America does. It's time to stop leaning on our own understanding & actually ask God who He has chosen & what He wants us to do about that. And for the record we pray fervently for America & the American people: that God will give you wisdom & insight, courage & strength for the fight.