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SUCCESS...
"To be successful is
to be helpful, caring,
and constructive-
To make everything
you touch a little bit better.
The best thing you
have to give is
yourself."
Norman Vincent Peale
"FAILURE to stand
for what is morally
right is the prelude
to being the victim of
what is criminally
wrong"
"Zig" Ziglar
THE POLITICAL SEASON COULD BE AMUSING IF POLITICIANS WERE NOT SO DANGEROUS
Guest Commentary
Courtesy Of Bill Ellis
Syndicated Columnist
We are in for some amusing and serious events in the next two months. There are NASCAR
races, baseball pennant races, college
and professional football games and a
World Series and Super Bowl on the
sports agenda.
The most amusing, serious and
dangerous races are the political races.
No matter what I say about politics and
politicians in this column, please bear in
mind that I do have a profound
appreciation for what they must go
through to be elected and then what the public goes through after they are elected.
There is not a day that goes by without my being thankful for those who have voluntarily become a part of the political process. Roget’s SUPER Thesaurus by Marc McCutcheon, published by Writer's Digest books, helps us understand the meaning of words. It contains more than 400,000 synonyms and antonyms.
I was searching for accurate definitions for politic, political, politically correct, politician and politics. I was utterly surprised by the three words that preceded and followed this bevy.
The three words before politic were polish, polite and politeness. The three words following politics were poll, pollster and pollutant. How could they ever have been more correctly arranged? Just think for a few minutes about the meaning of the words that come before and after the political words. That's a fun game to play. I just noticed that pop and poppycock surround the word pope. The two words between applause and applesauce are apple and apple-polisher.
There is really a lot of irony and irrationality in life and especially in politics. We will hear an increasing number of words, often spoken without ever consulting a dictionary, during this dangerous political season. Ducks, squirrels and deer are relatively safe when compared to the citizens who must face the constant bombardments of politicians who hunt with careless words.
When I read what I have written to this point, I realize that I am not talking about the politicians I know best. Really, I must be talking about those in your district and state. We need all the promises and pork we can get. It is somebody else, in some other state whose politicians should be turned out of office and replaced for the good of the rest of us.
Congressman Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill, who once introduced me to speak before an opening session of the United States House of Representatives, was correct when he said, “All politics is local.” People all over the country may be hoping that our favorite politician, for the sake of the nation, will not be elected.
President Grover Cleveland called politicians the
"Trustees of the people" while Gabriel Chevallier also used a four-word definition, "A dealer in promises." I seldom quote Mao Se-tung, who defined politics as "War without bloodshed." Ely Culbertson believed it was "The diplomatic name for the law of the jungle."
It all comes down to what we think and the decisions we make. Whatever the results, we should remember the advice of St. Paul, “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving be made for everyone -- for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness” (I Timothy 2:1-2, NIV).
The chaplain of the senate had it right. The Capital guide was asked, "Does the chaplain pray for the senators?" "No", he replied, "he looks at the Senators, and then prays for the nation." It will be to our advantage to pray a lot before and after the elections. All politicians are not saints. All should be, but few are.
