For a guy who talks so much about peace, I sure don't feel very peaceful these days. The state of our nation is on my mind, in particular politics and the functioning (an oxymoron?) of our government, and it's got me fuming!
It goes without saying that politics is a game of power to determine who will control the mechanism of government -- and in so doing set the course of our common affairs.
As with any game, people play to win. When some win, others lose. Like the cliche says, to the winner go the spoils. And to the loser? The chance to try, try again -- and do whatever possible to regain power at the next election.
Ah, elections. That's a good place to start. When I was young, I used to hear about how bad the soviet system was, offering its people only the illusion of choice, that the system was rigged to elect the candidate selected by a central ruling elite.
So what makes us think it's any different here, just because we get two (and sometimes more) candidates to choose from for most offices? The American electorate is trained to think our choice is meaningful, but for our vote to "count," we dutifully must cast those votes for either a Democrat or Republican. That is, unless things deteriorate to a point that we demonstrate our ire by voting for some third party because we don't like the choices propped up for our consumption.
In case you haven't noticed, individuality and the freedom to be yourself are confusing concepts these days. 
