I wrote this after election day but forgot to schedule it to publish.

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Some people live in a bubble.

What happens to people when they leave the bubble?

I find it really funny how people behave and how their opinions come forward during election season, especially during a presidential election. I knew when Barack Obama became president in 2008 that he would get reelected for a second term. Don't ask me how I knew that unless you're ready to take a long journey down the rabbit hole... where it ends, nobody knows! I didn't even entertain the thought that Romney would even come close to receiving the necessary electoral college votes. I was hopeful that Ron Paul would have received the Republican nomination but that didn't happen... and I knew it wouldn't but I was still hopeful.

The past couple of months of Facebook Status updates made me whoooozy. I feel like people are just so narrow in their thought process. It's not a secret that I live in a Mormon community. I work at a Mormon institution. The narrow thought process around these parts makes me gag. It makes me downright nauseous. All the people around me live in a bubble and are thoroughly unrealistic in their mormon-isms in relation to the "real world".

The day after the election, when everyone in this bubble realized that a Mormon was not going to sit upon the throne of the American empire, people were losing their mind in conversation and on Facebook. I was amused by the banter and the suggestion that this election would usher in the apocalypse or in Mormon lingo -- the Second Coming.

Religion is such a powerful weapon. People abandon all logical thought processes in exchange for belief in the ethereal. I am, by self-proclamation, a mystic. I believe in the possibility of EVERYTHING and the union of the self with a universal deity. However, I am very analytical, very objective in my thought process. I don't expect everyone to think in the same way that I do but there has to be a logical common ground that we can start from. Arguments cannot be based on theological doctrine that only you our your kind believe. The premise of the argument would not be built on a common platform from which an opponent can argue. A Catholic cannot impose his or her beliefs into my psyche nor can a Muslim or Jewish person exert a measure of their religious doctrine on a balanced debate.

I had a conversation on Facebook that made me kind of embarrassed to be affiliated with certain individuals whose opinions were so narrow and so skewed.Thus was born this post and the idea that the people around me are sorely stuck in "the bubble world". I never hope to be so narrow and so brainwashed.

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Here is the repost of the conversation.

FB STATUS UPDATE:
Watching and listening to the news last night, news reporters were saying that the president was re-elected not based on the state of the economy or anything (if anything productive) he did over these past 4 years. He was re-elected based on his campaign. From his first campaign in 2008, he promised us a lot of things. I know no one is perfect, but he not only didn't fulfill anything he promised, he straight did the opposite with full knowledge and purpose. So for all of you who voted again for Obama you just believe another meaningless campaign that will not only prove unfruitful, but very detrimental to America! There's not enough hard working people to sustain the bunch of free riders and lazy slackers the government has promised to feed for the next 4 years. ME: That's harsh

RANDOM 1: No, that's the truth. diga la prima.

FB STATUS UPDATER:
I firmly believe it is the truth...what I view is harsh, is my family and I working to sustain others who aren't even willing to try and sustain themselves. When times get tough, we should use our own 2 hands and rely more on God to strengthen us to work and make ends meet. We shouldn't rely on any government to fix our problems.

ME: 
OK... just so you know... i love political talk and do not take offense at anything we say back and forth. love you FB STATUS UPDATER. just had to tell you dat. totally shouldn't rely on govt to fix our problems so why would an election do that?this one single issue in regards to working while others rely on govt for it -- isn't that the same principle that drives the welfare program in the church? fast offerings go to help those in need. how is it different from us working to help others in the secular sense? where is the line drawn between helping others and not helping others? GOD IS LOVE. GOD IS COMPASSION.... and should we not be representatives of that love and compassion? so when i say that your comment was harsh... i meant that it is void of LOVE. void of COMPASSION.love you FB STATUS UPDATER and all the people that benefit off my tax dollars. hahahaha.... nah j/k

RANDOM2: 
FB STATUS UPDATER, America hasn't hit rock bottom yet, that why we have a re-elected Obama. 4 more years of nothing should wake people up. Forced charity is not the charity Christ talks about. Forced charity creates a feeling of resentment in those that are forced to fork over their hard earned dollars. It also creates a sense of entitlement in those who benefit from the programs. I think there are many differences between the church's welfare program and the governments. A few: 1) it's church run, therefore in capable hands. 2) the church welfare program is assistance, not a crutch. 3) that money, food, time, etc is all voluntarily given because we love our fellow brothers and sister. 4) the church's warehouses full of supplies can be ready to be deployed with out delay. That is why church members on the east coast are providing more assistance than FEMA despite its $$$ from our tax dollars. A political example of action versus big talk: Romney providing his campaign buses to help with deliveries of supplies to Sandy victims. Obama did some photo ops, looked concerned, said relief would not be bogged down by red tape. Mean while supplies are held up or non existent. Ultimately if we get the economy back on track, more people employed, more income taxes paid (not because rates are raised), more revenue, pay off debt, less people on welfare, less strain every one, we can really take care of those who really need the help! Especially if the government can make federally funded programs more efficient! We need to work together to make that happen. I think FB STATUS UPDATERS comment was filled with tough love. I love this country and just want a better future, for myself, my future family, etc. we may not agree on political stances,both parties have their valid points. I'm sure we can all agree that the world is a scary place and we've got to hold on to our faith, and trust in God. That's my two cents any way! Take it or leave it

ME:
controversy will always be a part of the political process. ask a million different people on their opinion on govt and politics and you'll get a million different answers. your perception is yours. i choose to see the world according to my own set of "rosy colored lens" and there are no lines between who i am behind the guise of the church and who i am in politics. ultimately, a person chooses the manner in which they give whether its thru forced compliance (tax) or thru fast offerings. you decide if it's given with apprehension or faith.

FB STATUS UPDATER:
Thank you ME and RANDOM2. ME , I share the same sentiments as RANDOM2 as regards to charity. The Lord also teaches us to choose wisely. I don't mind giving to people secularly and I do do that. I will uphold the laws of the country and only God knows the intent of my heart. Call it void of compassion and love...call it tough love...according to what I have learned there is a way to attain a better financial situation and the church teaches this - spend within you means. Obama is the first president never to have his budget approved in his entire first term. No records, nothing to hold him accountable for. The Lord himself only requires 10% of what we earn and with that 10% as RANDOM2 has explanined the church is able and one of the fastest organizations to respond...at the rate Obama spends, he will have to up taxes...as taxes are people are paying sometimes 20%-30% of what they earned, taxes are take out before the paychecks are even cut. So I have 10% going to God who is the perfect, most merciful distrubutor ever. Then I have a government who takes my taxes and gets further into debt which means eventually they'll take more. And last time I check the person who wanted all of God's children to be forced to comply, well his plan got denied because it tampered with the power of agency.

ME:
SMH  

RANDOM3:
There is a big difference between the welfare program of the Church and the welfare program of the nation. One the church of God is run by God, 2, last time i checked, we give fast offering, tithing and other donations to the church according to our faith and the commandment of God, In which those endowed with power from on high, pray and fast as to what to do with it. We aren't just out to give free meals but to show and help others build a life and a livelyhood for themselves and their families. The core of the welfare program of the church is self reliance. But we still have our agency to pay it or not. Charity, love and compassion are only a factor when you choose to give. They are attributes attached to our agency. Being forced to give our money away, not only puts our families at risk but takes away our agency and limits our ability to choose. And we are forced to give our money to a person we dont trust and in our current situation, someone who doesnt care or know how to use it wisely. We are all now forced to support him, i pray things will turn, but with all his policies and values, or more correctly, lack of values, all we really can do is prepare for the second coming. And since we are talking about the lack of love and compassion. Satan also presented a plan in which he wanted to force us all to keep the commandments, which we all were very against. I dont see how this is different. This is harsh, but it is true. We give and i can testify that i have seen much charity and love and compassion given from my parents, even at very hard times in our lives. The issue here is our freedom and our agency. If we want to give our money away, then let us choose to not force us to. We will never stop working or trying to make it, our faith is stronger than this, but if we cannot see the deterioration of our values, our freedom, our agency, our security and our country, then we are surely going to find ourselves in trouble. Sitting on the fence is for cowards. There is a right and a wrong to every choice. America was founded on equality before God and equality of Opportunity not the Equality of Outcomes. We want to give, but we dont believe that the way the government thinks we should give is the way that will ever make real and lasting positive progress. Nothing is ever really free. And nothing is as worth it if you didnt work for it your self. Only God knows what is in store, i pray that he will have mercy on us.

ME:
i did not select obama either for the reasons you stated and for many others. the reason for my original response is that the language of the universe, the language of God is LOVE... not fear, not hate, not anger... but LOVE.

RANDOM3:
Yes, i understand, and i say everything i do in Love also. I have learned that the language of love is not aways saying what is pleasing to one but saying the truth and what really matters and telling it how it is. I know it is harsh but even the Lord said hard words to his prophets and people and even the prophets have said hard things to us and even my parents have said many hard things to me as their child. But if you really love someone or something, you would say the hard things because you know in the long run and eternal perspective it will matter more. I love America. I am a patriot through and through. And i want us to succeed, but ever choice has a consequence and there are laws to nature that we cannot help. And we have been warned of these days. God is Love but God is also Truth and Justice..... Just as nothing is free in this life even though someone might receive it labeled free, somewhere someone worked or paid for it, just as every sin, no matter if we have repented and given it to Christ or haven't will be paid for somewhere by someone. These are eternal laws that even though it is a government of the world, the concepts are reflected through time. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and everyone has their own views. The truth is, everything in this life is spiritual. I did not vote for Romney because I am a Mormon, I voted for him because he reflects the values i cherish so dearly. Agency is one of our greatest gifts from God and we have a duty to protect it.

FB STATUS UPDATER:
True, true...as was reading through our conversation, my mind brings up the moment of the Atonement. Despite all the love the Savior had, what and who He represented, he still died and had to be crucified. I admit I haven't been happy with the presidential results, but I have faith and know that God is what will sustain me and my family and this bless country of America. We all knew these times were coming, we must continue to LOVE and be DILIGENT and watchful for the day the Savior will come. No man knows the day or hour. There is much work to be done, and mahalo ke akua that He gives me breath and an able body to work. I still love you all and I will pray for our leaders and for all of you and your family and loved ones.

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I think it's so hilarious how religious zealots want to inflict their brand of spirituality on everyone then use it to argue their secular/political stance. People tend to use their religious doctrine/dogma to justify their actions and expects the rest of the world to follow suit. I just don't agree with it and as I stated before -- I am embarrassed to affiliate with people with such narrow thought processes.