Making a Difference

This is going to be a rare post.  Not rare in terms of time between writings - although that seems to be true as well - but rare in terms of content.  There are some topics that I tend to shy away from when I write.  Often, my hesitancy is due to my lack of knowledge on the subject. At times, it has been because of the position I held as part of a church staff.  In this instance, my hesitancy has always been the divisive nature of the topic – politics.

Before you shut your laptop, start a game on your tablet or check the email on your phone, I hope that you will give me a chance.  It’s really not as much about politics as it is about the culture of America.  As one person, I cannot change the political climate. Yes.  I can vote to make my voice heard – and I do.  One voice in nearly 57,600,000.  According to some reports that is approximately 30% of the number of voters who were eligible vote in 2016.  That would make my voice one in 192,000,000 (if my math is correct).  So, how do I make a real difference?  Make people think.  You may agree with me – you may not, but sharing ideas and thoughts are where real change happens.  It is the mindset of 192,000,000 people that makes the difference.

For my international friends who may not know, our President is in the process of nominating a new justice to serve on our Supreme Court.  The candidate he has selected has been accused of sexual misconduct when he was in high school.  Sexual misconduct is wrong. Black and white. No arguments here. My concern is with the timing of the accusation.

Here is a quote from the victim given during the Senate hearing.

“I am here because I believe it is my civic duty to tell you what happened to me while Brett Kavanaugh and I were in high school.”

…my civic duty… Judge Kavanaugh has been involved in the political arena since the Clinton era. He has served in the district court of DC since 2006, and according to Politico, he brought with him a “a long record of jurisprudence.”  Where was the “civic duty” during his tenure prior to this nomination?

Once again, let me be clear. Sexual assault and sexual misconduct are wrong.  My problem with this issue is that it apparently wasn’t wrong for most people until it was convenient.  If it is wrong now that he is a Supreme Court nominee, it was wrong when he was selected for his first bench. Why was it not brought forth at that time?  We need to be holding our state and local officials to the same standards as our national officials.  If we truly want to get the sludge out of our government – both republican and democrat – we need to stop allowing it to get that far.

All that being said, it comes down to an issue of integrity, both of the candidates and voters.  There is no one without sin, but until we start living our everyday lives as people of integrity, we can only expect more allegations to be made – substantiated and unsubstantiated.  We need to be the difference makers.