Months ago I wrote a piece entitled “Cherish the many things in life above politics.” In it I talked about friendships across political aisles, artistry, excellence, and other enjoyments in life worth cherishing. A snippet:
As Fish perceives, there are more important things to life than politics. Breaking bread with friends is one of the greatest.
Politics is, of course, a part of life. So are the activities that take place in bathrooms, and they aren’t polite subjects either, as necessary as they are for the health of the body. Politics is messy, dirty, foul, and entirely necessary for the body politic, but that doesn’t mean we should revel in it or worse, exalt it.
As Paul wrote to the church at Philippi, “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things.” And there we find family, friends, food, music and the arts, sports, and so on, and yes, even politicians and political accomplishments, but none to the detriment of the rest.
I read today about a very touching example of a Democrat and a Republican having political differences in proper perspective. In Texas, freshman Rep. Terry Canales, a Democrat, had a baby on the way. His colleague, Rep. Debbie Riddle, a Republican, had recently lost her baby, a boy named Judah.
A Dallas News blog continues the story:
Riddle asked Canales if he had named his baby yet. He responded that he was too busy and hadn’t yet, so she suggested he name the baby Caleb.
“That’s a beautiful, Biblical name,” Canales responded. Then, as she was sitting there at his desk, he looked it up.
Caleb, he discovered, was a representative of Judah.
“Thank you, Rep. Riddle, for naming my baby,” he said, as the two shared a hug on the House floor to tearful applause.
That’s something worth cherishing.
HT: DG
