politics is emotional

take heed: i'm gonna be lambasting emotion and politics in one bold stroke.

everyone has feelings. everyone has 5 layers of maslow-desires. everyone is an id, ego, and superego rolled into one. everyone performs that social role to the best they can because they feel it "fits". (i'm citing loads of random theories just to sound academic. don't cite me.) but basically, everybody lives their lives as if they're the centre.

nobody seems to see the Christ in anyone else but themselves.

how do you serve when you're emotional? how do you pray when you feel trapped in that powerful negative emotion? what is one supposed to do with anger, hate, disappointment, irritation, betrayal, jealousy, rejection, depression?

you become reactionary.

stemming from that internally justified rationale of righting the imbalanced emotion, you work on your self-esteem. you decide you shall stand down no longer and stand up for what you stand for. and in standing up, you cast mighty shadows upon your opponents. a line is drawn. the self and the other are created. it's me against the world - you are either for us or against us.

where's the Christ in this? how can one be Christian if they draw such bounding boundaries?

well, there's one simple way: by becoming political.

anger: i'm not angry with you. i'm angry with your ideas. which are thought of by you, so you get some of the anger-flak. i apologise if i seemed so, but really, i'm not angry with you. just the damned ideas.

hate: i don't hate you. i just hate the way you squirm about. stop being such a flip-flop; stand for something i can digest! don't do such hate-able things. even then, i won't hate you.

disappointment: you don't disappoint me. you had it rough. man is created weak and we only constantly weaken ourselves. i'd have done the exact same thing. it's really not your fault. i'm not disappointed.

irritation: you're not irritating, you're doing what you need to do. i understand where you're coming from and i know where you're bringing us. our perspectives may differ but i respect your non-irritating attempts at irritation.

betrayal: you didn't betray me. it was a mere miscommunication. the broken telephone line. the hustle and bustle of urban freneticism. the junk in the dna. you couldn't have betrayed me. i don't feel betrayed.

jealousy: i'm not jealous. i thank God that you're blessed in your special way. i'm amazed at His obtusely amazing plans. i'm glad He's created you unequal. now you don't get jealous of me!

rejection: i wasn't rejected. i wasn't brushed aside. my stand was weak - full of loopholes. my ill-conceived plan was rejected. i'm not gonna take it personally.

depression: i'm not spiralling. i'm free as a bird, strong as a tree! with my God beside me, inside me, between me, how could i feel such an odd emotion? i'm only mildly saddened.

now, now... how could that be political? you tell me. you say one thing and mean another. you judge, pre-judge, and re-judge, then claim you are objectively non-judgemental. you respect the almighty norm of formality and eloquence, but you think in one-dimensionally hurtful words. how could a Christian think such thoughts? noooo... to be one, you gotta swallow it all. don't throw Christ's face: be two-faced.

man is an irritatingly political animal - because he's emotional. but when he's Christ-like - i'm betting my life on this - the emotions all become positive, and the politics becomes a silly annoyance in the back of his head.

why disagree when you can try and try again? why have faith when you already believe?

when you pray, close your door. when you give, your left hand doesn't know. when you save a person, you don't make him twice as worthy of hell. when you fast, be happy. when you serve, turn the other cheek.