My anger

We are now 17 months into the global pandemic.  The 'Delta' variant is causing COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations to spike.  People are getting sick almost everywhere.  Several of my co-workers have gotten ill.  The government is now encouraging those of us who got shots earlier in the year to get a booster 8 months after our first dosage because it appears that the effectiveness of the vaccines wanes over time.  This pandemic shows no sign of finishing.  

And I'm pissed.  So angry at the lies people have been willing to hear.  

About masks.  

About social distancing.  

About the vaccine.  

We could have been over this a long time ago, if not for a dimwit President who said this would magically disappear, and when it did not completely screwed up the response because he was afraid he would lose his election (which he did anyway) if he told the truth.  

We could have been over this earlier this year, if not for people who decided it was better to believe lies about vaccines.  Now generally 90+% of those who are getting seriously ill or who are dying are those who are not vaccinated.  And now because of their stubborn refusal to accept reality the virus has mutated and we might be dealing with this for years to come. 

We could have been over this during the summer, if not for craven Republican governors who decided to act as if no lessons had been learned last summer, that letting people think they are 'free' because they are irresponsible will win them elections.  The virus doesn't care about your ideology.  It doesn't care about your 'liberty'.  It doesn't care about how tired you are of being careful.   

As a Christian I know I need to be sympathetic to people who get sick.  And I am sympathetic to those who are vaccinated but yet have had a breakthrough positive test.  I have compassion on children who are not old enough to be vaccinated or whose parents will not let them be vaccinated and who get the disease. 

But these people who refuse to get vaccinated, who refuse to mask up, who refuse to stay home...I have nothing anymore.  My patience with these people is finished.  I stay away from them.  I have a hard time praying for them.  And I am so very, very angry at them all.  They choose to believe lies.  And all of us are going to suffer as a result of their stupidity.  

Forgive me, Lord, for my anger.  

I am writing this because perhaps in expressing this I can get it out of my mind.  The narrative that has been building in my head over the past few weeks won't leave on its own.  Only God can take it away, and perhaps this will allow him to do so.  

Forgive me, Lord, for my arrogance.  

Over the holiday breaks my sister and I were talking how neither of us feel like we have a political home.  Neither of us consider ourselves liberals, nor think that we really belong with the Democrats.  But the GOP has go so far into lunacy, and mainstream 'conservatism' is now so intellectually and morally bankrupt, that we can't ever think about going back to what we were raised to be.  I'm guessing that there's a lot of people in our position as well, because the conversation and media coverage of politics has so been geared towards the extremes for years that many of us who are in the middle feel as if we don't have a voice anymore.  

Somewhere in our conversation, however, one of raised the question, why isn't there any push for a centrist party?  Why isn't somebody filling this vacuum?  I've been thinking about that conversation for awhile.  What would a centrist party look like?  

First of all, I think we'd have to lay down some ground rules for this party.  One of those rules is that we are not a party for those looking to amplify their Trumpist extremism.  After the horrible events of this week when the domestic terrorism of Trumpism finally became clear, we don't want these people.  And so maybe we institute a simple rule: nobody may run under this banner who has run for political office under another party's banner in the past five years.  This has been a problem with a lot of fringe parties like the Libertarians...they simply bring in a name brand leader that is above their station in another's party.  This would help develop new leaders...maybe more slowly than some would like, but it's not enough to simply gain power.  It's about doing and being what is right.  

The second thing is to realize that we should take pride in moderation.  What gets the headlines is extreme positions, but political reality is that effective government comes from the center.  It recognizes the grievances of both sides, but it knows that most people simply want good government.  We support and honor our police, but we also realize that there are some police that are bad and should be retrained to other jobs and we realize that there are some systemic issues of police enforcement that need to be eliminated.  We recognize that nobody wants to pay taxes, but we proclaim that as a society we must properly fund schools, infrastructure, national security, and other programs that benefit all people, not just a few.  We are proud to have a generous and effective health care system, but we realize that continually enabling those who refuse any form of healty lifestyle.  We recognize the need for 2nd amendment protections, but we also demand that those who choose to have weapons store them responsibly and undergo regular safety training.  On these, and many other issues, we recognize that the daulistic and extremist positions are not what we need. Rather, we seek what is best for most Americans so that we are able to have life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  

I really believe that there has to be a place for a new party after the failures of the extremes.  I wish we could all be independent and make up our minds on each and every issue, but this is not realistic.  People join together as part of human nature.  I don't think I'm the right person to carry this out...I'm not charismatic enough, and too controlling in myself.  But surely there has to be a better way than what we are doing now.