Contests always have a little chatter on the side. People talk about who they think is the better contestant and why they will win. We do this in sports, battle of the bands scenarios, and politics. Even the most likeminded of us are bound to disagree sometimes. Even the most deeply divided opponents might agree on something. Look hard, really hard for it.

When we talk about who should prevail in a contest, often feelings muddle truth; half-truths are thrown around, incidents get twisted out of context, well you know how it goes. But if truth sets us free, then what do the untruths do?

I’ll admit, I think little things spoken to spare feelings are a lubricant to help people keep going. Yes, the dress makes me look like a box, but it’s a mercy for my son to say it looks nice since it’s one of my few options. However, those little things are an exception to the rule that honesty is the best policy. I used to think that if someone was asked a question, they would answer as truthfully as the situation allowed. That is to say, that if they are campaigning, they might leave something out to make themselves appear better; but they wouldn’t outright lie. That’s changed. I will always be stunned by people who lie outright. If you do or say or believe something, you must do so with good conscience. Why would you lie about it? The disconnect from belief to action to speech is beyond understanding. It is beyond understanding unless the person lying is 1. a pathological liar, 2. a sociopath, 3. wants our approval so badly, they will say anything to get it (in that case, see #2), or 4. trying to pull something over on us.

Election day being two weeks away, and knowing that what I read in the paper or on the computer or see on T.V. gives me a slight and slanted picture, I went the websites of each political party to read their platforms. There are quite a few parties, so I narrowed it to the three most likely to get votes. Those platforms seem less than basic. Maybe they need to use a lot of words to explain themselves, but I’m willing to wager that most people are like me and won’t read them through due to their length. I found something that seemed a little more helpful. It is a website, www.ontheissues.org, that listed quotes said and things done by candidates gleaned from news sources. Again, probably not the clearest picture, but better than those commercials you watch.

If the website doesn’t help us, maybe we should consider another quote from a wise source: By their fruit you will know them.

Vote November 4.

Quotes: John 8:32, Benjamin Franklin, Matthew 7:16