Lyle Northey (Silent/Boomer)

Politics and religion are again meeting in a way that is detrimental to the Constitution and the nation. Churches are supposed to be nonprofit, but judging by the opulence of the buildings they build and the way most of the leaders of churches live, nonprofit is just a nonsense concept.
The idea of churches not paying taxes is not just one that the US honors, other nations do as well. That status was bestowed on them and along with that came a law in the 1950’s that said you will keep that status as long as you stay out of politics. That worked for several years but it is no longer true. The IRS is not going after churches that are involved in politics.
What does it mean for the average person that does not go to church? You are paying for public things like paved roads, and sales taxes and just about everything in between so that churches do not have to pay. If they were a true non-profit at the end of the year they would have distributed all of the money they have to the needy, we know that does not happen.
Let’s be honest in saying that influence is part and parcel to what churches are all about. They spout propaganda from the pulpit weekly and if you hear the call then you believe and follow. That message will of course, reflect the ideas and ideals of the minister and the congregation if not the greater community. If the message is negative towards any particular group or company or person, more than likely that message will make a difference.
The far right of this nation is very much, at present, on the record as white nationalists. The message they are preaching is most likely not one that is helpful to any candidate that is not white. This idea that ability, brains or worth is confined to one race or another is stupid but enough people are still of that mind to make a difference.
The idea, or belief that only one race has a lock on whatever is important makes as much sense as the idea that corporations are people and have a right to vote. Another lie that was said often enough that some started to believe it. We have problems in our country, the influence that is provided by those in leadership positions can not be understated. We get influence from our government, the media and which way the owners and directors of the media corporations what the wind blows, and from the pulpit if we are church attendees.
All the hype and far too much divisive nonsense is directed at us that our more easily influenced can become less than good neighbors. Radical ideas, racial bias and a host of other negativity encourages violence and hostility. How do we overcome these issues?
One possible idea is to make our police forces more accessible to everyone. Take some out of the cars and back to walking a beat and getting to know the neighborhoods. That seems radical to some but when you ride around in a car and the only interactions are because someone did something wrong, positive impressions of one another are hard to form. The idea might cost more to have the extra police but the positives of interaction should overcome the cost. Let respect become a common value of both the public and the police, we will all gain from the experience.