I wish I knew what it was that made some people so adamant about politics. I’m all for those who take their citizenship and their voting privilege seriously, but honestly, some people act as if they would like to burn you at the stake if you disagree with them.

I had the opportunity to visit my daughter in Hawaii over Thanksgiving holiday. We had various options for Thanksgiving day dinner and ended up enjoying it with her neighbor’s family who turned out to be a talkative, opinionated, animated group with three teenagers coming and going the whole time. One of them is 15, and very involved with her Catholic Church. This did not come from her family; it was something she has determined on her own, and the next day when we were together again, she badgered me with questions about the Bible and faith. She was like a sponge soaking up all she could as a disciple of Christ.

After Thanksgiving dinner, as the pie and ice cream came out, her mother, whom I had been talking with most of the evening, asked me a question about my political affiliation — who I voted for in the last election — and as I answered, she screamed, “YOU DID WHAT?”

Suddenly everyone was focused on the ice cream melting on their plate, and one of the kids cried out, “Mom … don’t get started.” But she had no intention of letting this subject go. In the end, we were able to get back to the friendly exchange we had earlier, but she couldn’t get over the fact that someone she liked so much would be in the throes of the “enemy.”

I couldn’t believe that what I thought was a strong camaraderie that had been built in such a short time could come crashing down so easily by just one word: Democrat or Republican. That’s all it took. Is this how relationships get broken? Is it really that important? Are we really that much different? I turned out to be on the other side, and that one thing cast a pall on all that we had connected over previous to this.

By the end of the evening we had smoothed over some of the rough edges by affirming where we could both agree, but it still was different. Something was broken between us and I couldn’t help but think about family members and friends I have met who haven’t talked to each other for years strictly because of their politics. It should not be this way.

We must try something different. I’ll tell you what’s different … love. It’s that simple.

Republicans are red
Democrats are blue
But it really doesn’t matter
Because I love you

A NEW TIME FOR CHURCH AT THE CATCH

This Sunday and for the next four weeks, we are going to try a new time for our online church service. I will go live on Facebook at 1:00pm Pacific time. This will be on a trial basis, so let us know what you think. Remember, that if you can’t attend at one o’clock, you can always view the video any time thereafter by going to http://www.facebook.com/thecatch. See you there!