3 Real Observations (about the race for the Presidency in 2016)

Love this video tutorial on how to spot a fake smile. It proves a simple theory of mine that all of us are FAR more intelligent than politicians, media and educational metrics like to believe. We are always searching for what's real because instinctively we know that real is important. fake often means a person is vulnerable, insecure, something isn't working, and no matter what they say we can't fully trust the words. Here are three observations about why REAL is important to us in this year's race for the Presidency in 2016.


1) Real... is winning

*I don't know about you, but I get totally turned off by any person who panders to me, telling me what they think I want to hear in order to win my allegiance. I never feel people like that have my best interest at heart... in fact, I sense an emptiness in the heart of those people--like they're trying to find their worth in my (or others) opinion of them. That kind of desperation for approval is a selfish trap that steals a person's soul, and I find myself feeling sorry for people like that (i.e. politicians).

*Trump & Sanders for all their many flaws are REAL. Real to me is defined as something we know about ourselves. We're rough around the edges, imperfect, flawed, not-much-to-look-at-in-the-morning, weathered by life's ups-and-downs, cautiously hopeful, quietly skeptical, and done with trusting people at their word but ready for action. Trump & Sanders appeal to us because they shoot from the hip with their words rather than a teleprompter telling them what they think we want to hear. Both have an attitude of "enough-already-with-political-correctness/gender & race-baiting/gotcha-questions/insulting-america(ns)/media-polling-and-data-dividing-the-people-of-our-country-into-categories. We get the feeling they'll DO what they SAY and as a result they're both winning (last night in New Hampshire and practically in Iowa as well--minus some funny-business with other "NOT real" political maneuvering).

*Media-types (CNN, FOX, CNBC, ABC, theBLAZE, CBS, FOX business) scratch their heads because they're oblivious that we know they're part of the problem. We know they only LOOK like they are different ideologically... but they have their own agenda to keep things in Washington business as usual. They still can't figure out why we (Americans) don't want to be told how to vote on our television news. No, we want to be given the facts/truth without a bias and make up our minds for ourselves. We still believe with Abraham Lincoln that a "Government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the Earth."

2) Real... is fun

*Why else are we watching political television again? Finally, there's non-scripted candidates who say what they mean and take unpopular stands and, instead of tuning out, the very people who it affects are excited because we recognize this one's not rigged! 24 million people watch debates on a Thursday night instead of sitcoms, CSI and "reality" television. The highest voter turnout EVER occurs in only the first two primary states, and all cable news-stations have their highest ratings EVER. Americans realize when we listen to Trump and Sanders, we're hearing something revolutionary--real people with real ideas. BTW, real ideas are a little bit crazy, and as Seal says, "we're never going to survive, unless we get a little crazy."

*There's endless fun whenever real people make real mistakes. Anyone see Saturday's debates when the candidates couldn't hear the moderators before they came out? hahaha. They looked so silly waiting in the hallway together, not knowing when to come out to their podiums. That looked like something I'd probably do... and that's the point. We'd forgotten that politicians are supposed to be human FIRST and ALWAYS, above-all-other-traits because we're entrusting them to make decisions that will affect us... and we're human first and always.'

*The unexpected is so much fun. We live for surprises! Our lives are too often defined by rote repetition: get up, kids to school, go to work, eat dinner, watch tv, go to bed... and then do it all over again. When we're woken up from our "every-day-is-exactly-the-same" pattern by events that matter to us and involve us intimately... we're alive again. Oh, don't misunderstand me, we're not sure we always like the unexpected because we don't know how things will turn out and we're nervous and excited and angry and happy and... we realize that's what it means to be alive--to feel everything again, good and bad, and to hope that something bigger than us will work for our good.


3) Real... is Spiritual

*Americans may not be as religious as we once were... but we've chosen that attitude because we believe Religion is doing more harm than good. Doesn't matter which religion. History--past, present and future--is painstakingly repetitious... Religious wars aren't a thing of the past... they're happening again and we want it to stop.  

*Trump and Sanders are not particularly vocal about their spirituality. In fact, they're pretty honest about their roots and intermittent involvement with organized religion. But Americans aren't looking for religious answers to political problems anymore. We've lost our faith in religion, we won't put our faith in government, and whoever God is... we know who He is not. He is not religious (unless that religion is helping orphans and widows). He is not political (unless you mean His policy is to love people first). He is not us (unless you mean He understands us and wants to help us out of our brokenness). What we see for the first time in a long time, is a 2016 election process that matters because people matter. People are hurting, losing their healthcare, their full-time jobs, their money, their kids to drugs, their retirement, and their hope that the future will be brighter than their present. We don't want a Savior, but we do want common sense... people should be prioritized over religion/politics. The result of true spirituality is always a preeminent care for each individual life. Spirituality begins when we are real with each other.

Listen, there's something inside of us that resonates with anyone who tells the truth--even when it is unpopular. We know the importance of truth... it keeps us free. That's why this race for the Presidency in 2016 is so important because everyday many of us feel our freedom has been slipping away from us. Internet surveillance, political-correctness, religious fanaticism, economic insolvency, surreptitious government, and constitutional wavering are just a thimble full of the weirdness that has become our America. It's unreal and we want real. I am not suggesting that there are no other candidates for President that are real or that the two mentioned are incapable of misleading us. I am simply saying this: real is important because it points us towards freedom. Creativity, spirituality and fun depend on freedom--and that's why America is the greatest nation on earth--because we are free to be whomever we choose to be without the fear of aforementioned weirdness. And I am excited people are expressing their vote, their rights, their excitement, and their fears because it means --whatever the outcome--we are expressing our soul's desire for a real America.