As I watched portions of both the Republican and Democratic National Conventions recently, I was struck by how enthusiastic everyone was, how devoted they were to their party, and how clearly convinced they are that their specific policies and personalities are the only way to save us all from utter ruin.  To someone unfamiliar with the the nuances and subtle differences between the two camps, however, one might not even be able to figure out why they're running against each other in the first place.  After all, regardless of who was talking, whether they were standing on a stage in Florida or North Carolina, one heard quite a bit about creating jobs, providing opportunities for families, educating our young people, and supporting our veterans.

In spite of their opposing narratives, I think that there's really very little difference between the majority of those within the two parties.  Despite what Democrats might wish to believe, most conservatives are not greedy nor bigoted, and most of them are certainly not interested in denying anyone the opportunity to succeed.  And, regardless of what Republicans often say, very few liberals are actually godless communists eager to social engineer this place into an Aldous Huxley novel.

We are all just people.  People wake up in the morning and do what they can to make it through their day, and most of them, regardless of who they'll vote for, regardless of whether they'll even vote, are pretty decent Americans. 

As an example, my maternal grandfather lived to be ninety-one years old.  His people came to this part of Illinois from Germany by way of the Dakotas about a century ago, which was a fairly typical immigration route.  My grandpa Arnold Wendling and his brother owned a car dealership in Altamont that sold Studebaker and Chevrolet. He grew grapes and tomatoes in his backyard, and with the help of my grandmother "Birdie" he raised five children. Every Sunday morning his family walked the two blocks from their red brick home-bought and built with cash in 1949-to attend the local Lutheran church with dozens and dozens of other families a mere generation or so off the boat.

Down in my grandfather's basement, above his desk, hung a pencil-portrait of Ronald Reagan wearing a cowboy hat.  According to family legend, he once tossed a coin across the room because it bore the likeness of JFK.  As far as I know, the man voted Republican every chance he could.

My paternal grandfather, on the other hand, will be ninety-three years old in February.  The Robison clan, as far as we know, came to this part of Illinois in the same way many Scotch-Irish families did:  slowly west through the backwoods of Virginia, then Kentucky, perhaps Indiana, and then Illinois.   My grandpa Ralph farmed his entire life and would continue to do so to this day if he could physically climb into a tractor.   He grew corn and soybeans up on the prairie and in the river bottom, and with the help of my grandmother Lou he raised three children.  Every Sunday morning his family drove the one mile from their home-bought and built with cash in 1960-to attend Liberty Christian Church with dozens and dozens of other families multiple generations off the boat.

Down in my grandfather's basement, on top of a ping-pong table, sits a shot loader that hasn't been used in years.  He has a gun cabinet packed tight.  Despite both of these facts, back in 2008, with election day nearing, he lamented out loud the tightness of the race between Obama and McCain.  As far as I know, the man has voted Democratic every chance he could, and he will almost certainly do so again this November.

Despite their differences, these two men also shared some similarities.  They both worked incredibly hard their entire life, they both paid extremely close attention to their finances, and, most importantly, they both enjoy(ed) a personal relationship with God that many Americans nowadays could not fathom.  They both believed in Jesus as the son of God, not merely as a historic personality with some interesting ideas.

Speaking of Jesus, I could argue that He was a Republican.  After all, He's clearly pro-life, (just ask Lazarus) He stressed the importance of personal accountability, and the very successful enterprise He built has been around for nearly two-thousand years.  On the other hand, I could also argue that Jesus was a Democrat.  He borrowed one guy's fish to feed thousands of hungry people, He had no problem providing free health care, and He was by far the most progressive  reformer in history.  (Just ask the religious conservatives who had him executed.)

The point I'm trying to make is this: we spend a remarkable amount of time and energy in this country trying to change each others' minds.  Some of us are obsessed with the idea.  What with our bumper stickers and our yard signs, with our tweets and twits and blurbs, it's almost as if our politics have become our personality.  In fact, many of you who just read the previous paragraph only paid attention to half of it because the other half just couldn't fit into your perception of reality.  It was too alien a concept, and so you just dismissed it as hyperbole written to make a point.

It's not hyperbole, though, for me to suggest that God honestly isn't interested in your party affiliation.  He will love you regardless.

 It's not an exaggeration for me to suggest that Jesus loves Mitt Romney just as much as He loves Barrack Obama.  Sorry.  It's true.

He loves all those people who went and ate chicken sandwiches at Chik-fil-A this summer and all the people who wouldn't patronize a Chik-fil-A  if it was the last place to find food on this earth.

He loves people who watch Fox News and he even loves people who watch MSNBC.  That's just the way it is. 

Thus, when it comes time to vote this November, and every November from here on out, try to remember this passage from Psalm 146:

"Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.
When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
on that very day their plans come to nothing.
Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God,
the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them -
the Lord, who remains faithful forever.
He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free,
The Lord gives sight to the blind,
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,
The Lord loves the righteous,
The Lord watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked."

And remember, just because someone is driving around with a bumper sticker that doesn't correspond to  your political schema, that doesn't make them wicked.  It means they look at the world a bit differently than you.

Chances are, they'd probably be a pretty decent person to get to know.