In My Humble Opinion…

When I started this blog, I told myself that there were three topics that I would not discuss — sex, politics, and religion. But funny thing about these three topics… they kind of go hand-in-hand. And since election season is upon us, I thought I’d broach the subject and get my opinion out of my head.

[Side Bar: I really hate negative campaign ads and I hate smear campaigns. I think if politicians want to be elected honestly, they should stick to touting their platform and what they plan to do once they get in office. I also think that those who pay for and support negative campaign ads should be severely fined! Negative campaign ads and smear campaigns only push undecided voters (like myself) away from politics and my vote (or another undecided voters vote) could make the difference between who is elected President this year! ‘Nuf said!]

First, SEX and POLITICS… These have been co-mingling for eons. Politicians have been caught with their pants down (or skirts up) in many instances. Does anybody remember the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky scandal?

Politicians are elected officials and yes, they deserve some level of privacy; however, they, like celebrities, chose to be public figures and thus, they lose a certain level of privacy. They should be held accountable for their actions, whether it be while serving in office and in their private lives, and they should be held to a higher standard than your average Joe or Jane Schmoe because of their status as a “leader in the community”.

Again, I refer to the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal. Clinton claimed not to have had any sexual relations with “that woman”; however, the truth came out and he finally admitted to an inappropriate sexual relationship with Lewinsky. Did Clinton think he could get away with telling the American (and the world) people a small white lie without the actual truth coming out eventually?

[Side bar: I really like both Bill and Hilary Clinton and am also a fan of their daughter, Chelsea. I would definitely vote for Hilary for President.]

**MY opinion — a lie is a lie is a lie. There is no little white lies or big lies… they are all lies! It’s better to tell the truth than to tell a lie. It’s easier to get over and deal with the truth than it is to get over and deal with a lie. You tell one lie and you have to tell another lie to cover up the first lie, and the cyle goes on and on and on until you don’t even know the truth anymore.

Remember — “The truth shall set you free.”

My grandma once told me, “He who lieth, fryeth. Hephaniah 1:1” — and before you start screaming at me that there is no Hephaniah 1:1, I already know there is no Hephaniah 1:1. It was a lesson my grandma was trying to teach me to get me to stop lying when I was a child… and yes, I was notorious for my fibs when I was growing up. Now I’ve adopted the philosophy that I’d rather you tell me the truth than tell me a lie because I’ll tell you the truth because lies take too much concentration and only cause grief and pain in the long run.

Secondly, SEX and RELIGION… I’m all for sex, but it gets messy and oftentimes complicated when it co-mingles with religion. I’m sure everyone knows about the numerous scandals involving Catholic priests. In my opinion, these priests took advantage of their position of power and are suffering the consequences of their actions.

Although religious, or spiritual, leaders are not necessarily elected, they still are what I consider to be pulic figures and should also be held accountable for their actions and be held to a higher standard.

These political and religious figures stand as “role models” to many people and when their behavior and conduct is unbecoming, then they should suck it up and accept the consequences.

**MY opinion — these political and religious, or spiritual, figures should immediately step down from their position. They shouldn’t necessarily go into hiding and be forever disgraced; however, they need to realize that their actions not only affect their family but the organizations and the constituients in which they represent.

Third, POLITICS and RELIGION… Shouldn’t these two be separate entities? At least that’s how I thought it was supposed to be, according to the U.S. Constitution… “separation of church and state”. Although the Supreme Court may stick to their guns on the whole “separation of church and state” issue, is anyone fooled into thinking that there is actually separation between church and state?

For example, I think (and this is just my opinion) that politicians who are religious or Christians are trying to push into law who can and cannot marry. And yes, I am talking about the issue of gay marriage. I have several gay and lesbian friends and I have nothing against them wanting to get married. If they want to legalize their union, then more power to them. They are my friends and I support them. And by supporting them, if they want to marry their same-sex partner, then go for it. I mean, who the heck am I to judge their lifestyle? If you want to get “religious”, then “Judge not lest ye be judged” and “He who is without sin, cast the first stone.”

‘Nuf said…

Finally, to sum up my post… sex, politics and religion have co-mingled for eons. These are hot button topics in many circles, so here are a couple of talking points to discuss among your friends, or you can respond to this post if you’d like because, as always, I’d love to hear from you.

1) Do you think political and religion (or spiritual) figures should be held accountable and held to a higher standard? If a politician carries on an inappropriate relationship with someone for six months, should they have to pay a flat fee per month for lying to the public or should they be required to reimburse the government (give back their paycheck) for those six months? Should a political figure caught with their hand in the cookie jar be banned from politics?

2) What are your thoughts on “separation of church and state”? Do you think that the “state” intervenes too much or too little in matters that the “church” should be handling? Do you think the “church” runs to the government too often for matters that should be handled in the “church”? Do you think that the “church” runs to the “state” because (1) they don’t want to be the “bad guys” and take responsibilities for issues that should be settled in the “church” and tell their “followers” that they can’t do whatever because they said so or because “it’s a law”? (*Sorry if that last question was confusing… it sounded better in my head, but I’m leaving it in because someone reading it may understand it completely.*)

Well, that’s all I’ve got to say about these three topics at this time, but I won’t be blogging about these topics again. You can ask me my opinion on anything, but don’t take anything I say as the “gospel truth” because an opinion is like a doorknob, anyone can make it turn. There’s a saying – “If you don’t stand up for something, you’ll fall for anything.”

I actually wrote this post in Word but my computer froze up and I lost the original and couldn’t recover it, so I had to start all over so I know I missed a lot of talking points and didn’t fully express my opinion on these three topics, but I’d rather just get right to the point than babble… which is what I’m kind of doing now so I’ll end it here. Anyway, I’d love to hear from you!

Have a great day!