Love Thy Neighbor?

Jesus told us in no uncertain terms to love our neighbors as ourselves.
     Today's politics in America have taken this spiritual law and split it in two parts that no longer makes sense.
     Liberals love their neighbors to the point of dogged self-effacement and angry government mandates, trying to force empathy and protectionism.
     Conservatives love themselves and whatever temporary wealth that convinces them that they are more worthy than others.
     Neither approach is very neighborly.
     Each bends truth to their political advantage, and uses mercenary consultants and "think-tank" foundations to propagate their madness. They play to their bases, which consist of passionate ideologues committed to strife, who no longer think beyond convenient clichés of self-righteousness.
     In the process of this senseless and never-ending conflict, the nation is divided according to topics with purposely designed fault-lines that can never be resolved. THis is how parties define themselves. Reason and compromise are discarded as incompatible.
     Their leaders are divided into two species: the committed fanatic who cares only about winning over the "enemy," no matter what is lost or what madness it entails; and the greedy profiteer who will say or do anything for wealth and power. They often spill over into the religious sphere as well.
     Do such leaders deserve our support and the celebrity we give them? To my mind, they deserve outrage, public derision and turned backs as we attempt to regain the soul of our democracy.
     On one hand, we have "bleeding heart liberals" championing the right to millions of abortions, massive redistribution of wealth by the government, open borders (sometimes closed), and moral toleration that only rejects conservative values.
     On the other hand, "throw-back conservatives" champion a "gun in every pot," government control over women's reproductive rights, open borders (sometimes closed), massive redistribution of wealth by the private sector, and the kind of national pride that leads to senseless war.
     Madness at both extremes, jockeying for the support of the vast middle, who deftly tries to ignore them.
     The television media perpetuates this madness, knowing full well that conflict and scared fanaticism increase ratings, that attract more advertisers — solid proof of how market dynamics fail to promote what freedom and democracy need in order to flourish. Those who speak from genuine conscience and concern are not heard, while crooks and fanatics are paraded out as if they represented real American values.
     What exactly has replaced the Age of Reason from which our nation was born? The Age of Blind Fanaticism? If that be the case, we have much in common with the rest of the world, and can claim nothing special. The glib Rush Limbaughs of democracy have things in common with the Ayatollahs of fundamentalist Islam. Point and condemn, instigate and fuel discontent, and then sit back and watch the flames. They all line their pockets by the trouble they cause.
     Our only hope is for people to reject this vitriolic tennis match of pthetic ideologies and dare to think for themselves. We need to see, very clearly, the source of our errors, how we cling to sound bites and clichés that lead only to willful ignorance and devastation.
     Reason and compassion remain our only hope. When we love our neighbors as ourselves, a whole new line of thinking evolves, new answers to new questions, new responses based on a more complete patriotism that includes us all.
     If we do not, we continue with the endless cycle of supporting a fight where everyone loses in the end.

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