Devout Politics

Our politics are disintegrating. We are losing our ability to govern ourselves. Today‚ media amplify our differences, our biases, and our intolerances. Instead of labels, we need a common language to bring us together and to help us find common ground.

Politics is the process by which people live together. Politics is the manner in which people manage their collective affairs. Politics is the way in which groups of people make collective decisions.

We, The People, are the Body Politic. We may agree; we may disagree. We may have different viewpoints, skills, interests, desires, and ambitions. But, we are all The People. Not some of us, but all of us. The only way to live in collective harmony is to find common ground, and this requires a common language that focuses on the positive and on our collective hopes and dreams for ourselves, our groups, and our nation. There is no alternative.

To be Devout is to respect the values and the interests of others. To be Devout is to be passionate and compassionate. To be Devout is to have a higher purpose in one’s life than merely one‚Äôs daily existence. To be Devout is to be totally committed to a cause or belief. To believe in Devout Politics is to seek common ground for the common good.

Devout Politics is the way we must live together. It is not a dogma or a religion. It is not a political party or position. It is not a label or a set of rules or regulations. Devout Politics is a way of life.

The Devout Citizen recognizes that rights come with responsibilities. The Devout Citizen cherishes those rights and embraces those responsibilities.

The Devout Leader is thoughtful and wise, a teacher and an inspiration, a person whom others naturally wish to follow. The Devout Leader guides the Body Politic, the Devout Citizenry, in the interests of the common good.

As time and distance shrink, and as our individual interests become ever more intertwined with those of our neighbors and with the far distant peoples of the world, we must manage our lives and ourselves differently from the way we’ve done so in the past. We must each live a life of Devout Politics. We must each be Devout Citizens, and we must seek Devout Leaders. There is no alternative.