Why Get Involved Politically?

Yesterday I received an interesting and welcome invitation. The teacher for today's Gospel Doctrine class in church asked if I would take a few minutes to share some of my political experiences and my thoughts about why we should all be politically involved. The topic for the class is Lesson 44, "Being Good Citizens". (See https://www.lds.org/manual/doctrine-and-covenants-and-church-history-gospel-doctrine-teachers-manual/lesson-44-being-good-citizens?lang=eng )

Why do I get involved politically?

Well, one somewhat selfish and personal reason is that I really enjoy it and feel like I have been blessed with talents and skills that help me to excel there. It's kind of like Harry Potter getting on his broomstick and realizing that flying is just "his thing" - he's good at it and it's fun for him. Where other people track sports teams statistics, watch the draft picks, and gear up for the Big Game, I feel the same sense of anticipation and excitement when it comes to the legislative session and election night results. Kind of weird, perhaps, but I don't mind being a political nerd.

Of course, I realize not everyone feels this way and that's okay.

But through my involvement in politics, I've learned that there's more at stake than just political nerds having a fun time. Government is something that affects almost every single element of our lives and the lives of our loved ones. I often see people with the attitude of  "I just don't do politics", as if it were an a la carte option on our menu of things to do with our lives. I would dare say it's the whole reason the cafeteria is there in the first place!

So, here is my list of reasons why I feel everyone who reads this blog post should be involved in politics, especially if you are a Latter-day Saint:

·         To OBEY the commandments of God

·         To PROTECT our families and property from evil, selfish people and unjust policies

·         To PROTECT our neighborhoods, cities, states, country, etc. from evil, selfish people and unjust policies

·         To UPHOLD our God given rights as written in the Declaration of Independence, US Constitution, and the Bill of Rights so they can be passed on to future generations

·         To ENJOY PEACE by avoiding war and civil unrest

·         To TEACH OUR CHILDREN THROUGH EXAMPLE that freedom and peace requires a cost of involvement and virtue

·         To FULFILL OUR MISSIONS that God has reserved for us

·         To BE AN INFLUENCE FOR GOOD, instruments in the hands of God

·         To CREATE RELATIONSHIPS OF TRUST with those who represent us

·         To LEARN who to trust and where to go for answers about government policies

·         To HAVE A SAY in how we will be governed

·         To DEVELOP CIVIC VIRTUE, WHICH IS THE CAPACITY TO GOVERN OURSELVES ACCORDING TO JUST AND TRUE PRINCIPLES

This is just a bullet point list. I have so many thoughts and quotes I'd like to share about each point that I think I'll dedicate a separate blog post for each one. Then, of course, I will follow up with blog posts about how anyone can get involved politically, regardless of money, class, race, education, etc.

In the meantime, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Why do (or don't) you get involved in politics?