Divided we fall ...

I frequently read the boards at http://welltrainedmind.com/ . It is predominantly a homeschooling forum, although there are a number of after-schoolers, tutors, and others who post. It is a wealth of information for the classical homeschooler, which is what I would label myself, if I had to characterize my "style"or approach to academics. (Actually, I am a classical, Charlotte Mason-inspired, eclectic homeschooler, striving to keep to the tenets of the Latin-Centered Curriculum. There. I think I got them all in.) During the past few months, however, discussions on the general board have turned repeatedly to the world of politics. This is an election year, and we are facing many troubling situations in our world. So it is not surprising that these discussions get heated. But, what does surprise me - and saddens me - is how ugly they can get. If I have to fault our leaders for one particular thing, it would not be their poor management of the money that actually belongs to the people of this country. And it would not be the war on terror, which, I believe, was long over-due. Rather, it would be their failure to unite the people of this country. The divisiveness is crippling us. We need a srong leader who seeks to bring the people of this country together on the issues, not confound us. I am not troubled by the presidential candidates because of the color of one or the age of the other. I am troubled by the lack of clear, concise answers to the issues that need to be addressed now. I am so tired of political grand-standing, the pointing of fingers, and the lack of maturity. We should not have to guess about who represents the best leadership this country has to offer. It should be a goal we all aspire to - including the d$mn media - to find the single most qualified person, who encompasses all the characteristics our previously great leaders demonstrated. We have the benefit of hindsight. We can look back at leaders like George Washington & George Bush, and all those in between, and find what they did right -and remember what went wrong. This election should not be a cr%p-shoot - "let's hope the best man wins, 'cuz there ain't that much to choose from". Unfortunately, this seems to be the opinion of far too many people. And I can not say I am surprised. It is hard to make a decision based on "facts" when facts are few & far between. Or "facts" differ from one news channel to another, or one paper to another. Our history lesson the other day focused on the beginnings of the Associated Press in this country. It related how the newsmen of the day prided themselves on honesty and integrity - oh, how I long for that in today's world of sensationalistic journalism! My father loves the New York Post, which I find rather distasteful due to the sheer number of nearly-nude woman that grace many a page. If you have to turn the newspaper over so the little ones don't see it, it should not be called news - and it should be sold enclosed in a plain brown wrapper!