The Devil's Waltz

Religion and politics don't mix any better than oil and water, so I wonder why the two have walked hand-in-hand for so long. Religious beliefs used to be a private matter, but they aren't these days. Both the press and the public routinely question candidates for offices ranging from Dog-catcher to President about their relationships with God.

As if that's any of their business.

Religious beliefs are intensely personal ones that are evident by a person's actions. Besides, what people say about their faith means nothing. Their actions do. They are the evidence of it.

I don't particularly care about John McCain's or Barak Obama's personal faith. It's personal, after all. And even elected officials are allowed to have lead a private life as well as a public one.

I would argue that you can tell what a person believes by what he or she does. Words are easy. Life isn't. And a person's response to that simple fact of life tells me more about them than anything else.

I often think that the American political process has been corrupted, bastardized and sold-down-the-river by people who care more about getting elected than governing. These days in most races, it seems to come down to who is the lesser whore.

Most candidates in this election cycle are little more than sluts, garnering favor and support by selling themselves. But it's a deal with the devil.

I have learned through personal experience that people value integrity in people they will trust more than anything else. You gotta know what you believe and why you believe it. Then stick to it, regardless.

Most politicos these days are dancing with the devil, instead. They say what they need to get elected, do the opposite and then go back to the slop-trough-in-a- mud-hole to get their fill.

They expect no one will notice because, usually, no one does.

It's time to get beyond religion and labels and religious labels to a point where actions matter more than words. Where faith is left where it should be: in private. It should not be an issue in this election or any other, but it is and has been for far too long.

"Even so faith, if it has not works, is dead, being alone. Yes, a man may say, You have faith, and I have works: show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works" (James 2:17-18)

It's a simple principle that, if applied to the electoral process, could simplify things greatly. Leave faith out and run on issues. Then let the public decide based on actions.

That's the only real expression of faith, the only one that should matter.

The rest is all sound bites.