Super Tuesday Thoughts

Super Tuesday 2016 is now history.

Regardless of how the results made you feel, it may be helpful to consider the following:

1. If you are looking for politicians to make the world a better place, you are going to be disappointed.

I live in Michigan. Right now one of the biggest cities in the state is reeling under a water crisis. The infrastructure that brings water to the residents of Flint is broken. In fact, it's been bringing lead-tainted H2O into town for over a  year.

It's nothing short of a disaster when a city can't guarantee water that's safe to use.

It took citizen attention to get the issue on the dashboard of state government.

2. Beware of politicians who say they are going to make our country great again, without offering specifics.

On the surface, it sounds patriotic and uplifting. But a nation is only as good as the people who live in it.

And you could always ask: "Great again, compared to what?"

No country's history is unblemished.

Any person running for national office who alludes to an untarnished past isn't telling you the truth. A country grows by admitting its faults and correcting them, not by ignoring them.

Not to mention that platitudes don't solve challenges, but specific, realistic action plans do.

3. Ignoring something is very close to ignorance.

The two words share the same root.

If you take a look at common factors that indicate a good standard of living, the United States isn't in the ballpark with the rest of the world anymore.

For instance, according to the World Health Organization, the US health system ranks 37th.

Fifteen year-olds in the US ranked 34th in math and 28th in science worldwide compared to their peers, according to the Pew Research Center.

And the US didn't make the top 10 countries in the Global Well Being Index put together by Gallup-Healthways (most recent research done in 2014).

Ignoring this reality by offering hollow appeals to patriotism won't fix the situation.

Meanwhile, the US does rank ninth worldwide in the percent of its GNP spent on the military, (which could explain why it rates so low in health, education and well being).

4. Watch out for politicians who say they are going to "work hard" for you.

What's their motivation to do so? What is their accountability record on fulfilling promises? Do their actions indicate they truly care what happens to you beyond election day?

If you're evangelical and need a scriptural reference for this, the Bible cautions to take a good look at the fruit that a tree is bearing (Matt. 7:17).

Take the time to get beyond campaign slogans to examine each candidate's track record before casting your vote.

5. We can't afford to be politically lazy.

It may sound like I'm trashing all politicians. But I'm not.

What I am saying is, particularly in this election year, we have a lot to consider. We can't afford to blindly endorse a candidate simply because they make us feel good about ourselves. The same goes for candidates who use slogans and slander to avoid intelligent and reasonable discussion of a plan for our country's future.

As always, I welcome your comments!

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