Politics – yuck. The mention of the word sends a shiver up my spine and I feel my body tightening in preparation for what is coming. You know kind of like bracing for something painful that you know you cannot avoid. (Oh, politics can cause you to lose friends and tick off family).

I guess you can tell the political arena is not my favorite place. Unfortunately, politics is a reality of life and it’s hard not to find yourself in its whirlwind. Since I’m a word person, I looked up the definition of politics to see if that explains the feelings/bodily reaction I have when I hear it.

The Oxford Dictionaries list this definition: The activities associated with the governance of a country or other area, especially the debate or conflict among individuals or parties having or hoping to achieve power.

Well, that doesn’t sound like it should bring feelings of dread like I have during election season. Oh, but there are other definitions.

The Urban Dictionary has this meaning for the word.

“Politics” is derived from the words “poly” meaning “many,” and “tics” meaning “blood-sucking parasites.”

Yikes, that’s doesn’t sound good.

Recently, I’ve tried to sit quietly and take in what’s going on in both parties. Sometimes, I am good at doing that, other times not so much.

There is one thought that kept coming into my head as I listened to the extremes on both sides. “Take a breath. It’s not as bad as you seem to think.”

I am sick, sick, SICK of hearing how bad our country is failing, how it is sliding toward doom. That is a message coming from both the far out-of-the-mainstream right and left.

It’s this total focus on what is wrong, how we are failing as a nation and facing a dismal future. STOP IT!

For just one minute step outside the rhetoric slung about by whatever political savior you’ve chosen to follow and look at your life in this nation. It is not that bad folks.

An example is the fact that I am sitting here typing these words and have the freedom to do so. That is not the case in many countries. (And we need to make sure we keep that freedom strong).

It is interesting to me that many of the people having the most to say about the sorry, scary shape our country is in are doing their complaining from the comfort of a nice home. Some from the comfort of their second home or while they are on vacation typing comments as they gaze out at the ocean from the balcony of their rented condo.

I’ll admit this country isn’t perfect and yes, there are many things we can improve, many ways we can become better at how we govern ourselves. Still, I do not think America is falling apart and those who try to convince us of that are dead wrong.

You know there is this rule, this principle – – I’m not sure exactly what you call it – – that says, “Like attracts like.” Put another way, what you send out is what comes back. If you want it in biblical terms — you reap what you sow.

Maybe, we should give that some consideration when we think about politics and what we are saying and focusing on when it comes to the future of our country.

I heard a commentator say the other night that this election is about which America you think you live in. You either see one filled with fear and hopelessness or one that may not be perfect, but is still a place of greatness and opportunity.

So, here I sit not liking politics but understanding that “we the people” includes me the person typing these words. And like it or not, politics is part of life in this country.

Oh, in case you wonder which country I see, I see a great America and I am grateful it is my home.

 

Nancy Blackmon is a former newspaper editor and a yoga teacher.