Politics. What the heck?

Yesterday, my mother bombarded me with some stressful information.

Note: You must understand that she religiously listens to Rush Limbaugh. She knows I hate listening to him - who wouldn't? He bellows and shouts all the time - so she doesn't listen to his show while I am home. She listens to him in the car and comes home and tells me what he says, which isn't much better.

Anyway, she came home yesterday and rattled off something about President Obama doing something to marriage and it's awful and the world is collapsing in on itself. I walked away with "President Obama is doing away with the institution of marriage, so no one can even get married anymore. Marriage is abolished." What?! So then I get really upset because I, like a lot of people, am looking forward to my wedding day. My emotional roller coaster went through several phases at that point: I hate politics. I am sick of this damn president doing whatever the heck he wants and thinking he can get away with it, and I am sick of hearing about it. I feel helpless to do anything about it. All that comes from paying attention to politics is me feeling helpless and getting angry because I feel helpless. Then I swear off politics all together. But that's no good either. If I just ignore them, I am still haunted by the fear that one day I will wake up and everything will be different.

I found out later that marriage was still legal, and that Obama just told the Attorney General to not uphold the Defense of Marriage act (marriage is between a man and a woman), which was put into practice during the Clinton Administration, in some court case. My response: "Okay, so he isn't doing away with the institution of marriage itself." Mom: "Well it sure sounds like it." At that point, I walked away because I was getting stressed out again.

So where do I stand? I hate politics. I really do. They stress me out, make me angry, and then my day is ruined. But ignoring them isn't ideal either.

As a Christian... Where do I stand on gay marriage? I have gay friends. They are still people, and they should have rights too. But what about what I believe about marriage? The Bible says that marriage is between a man and a woman. So there are these people who are leading lives of sin and wanting to marry the same gender. What do I do with them? I believe that we should love everyone because Christ loved everyone, but how do you love someone and disagree with what they are doing at the same time and be tactful about it?

As a Christian... Where do I stand on Obama's inclination towards Socialism? The Bible says "If a man does not work, neither shall he eat." It seems pretty simple to me. If you work and you get paid accordingly, that is your money. It belongs to you. If you don't work, then you don't get money. That is your problem. Not mine, not the government's.

Where is the line between religion and politics? Is there a line at all? Should I completely separate the two? Should I mix them beyond recognition?

As an English Literature major, in a field full of hippies and liberals, where do I stand?

Do I become a political activist and go crazy Republican? Do I retreat from the political arena and lie low while keeping my priorities straight?

As a young Christian in this day and age, what do I do?!


Maybe the first step is to find a better source on political happens other than my mom and Rush.