Help Yourself.

It's not my fault.

I think most people agree with that statement, at least through the consistency of their actions. Last night our Presidential election came to an end, re-electing President Barack Obama for a second term. As expected, social media this morning is flooded with articles and posts about their feelings on the election. For the most part what you'll see is people dissatisfied and disappointed, spewing accusation at all those who voted opposite them and "ruined our country," and it's what you would have seen from a different set of people in the case of a different result. The only aid I can offer for those who are filled with disappointment or anger is to say this: It's your fault.

After the polls were in and Romney had conceded to Obama, news anchors began to weigh in on the present failures and the future strategies of the Republican Party. They said they had failed to secure the Mexican vote. That they needed to be more sensitive to the 54% of female voters out there. They only appealed to "white working Americans." When considering who the next candidates should be in 2016, there was a lot of energy spent determining who would appeal to certain key demographics and be able to secure voters from particular states. Ironically, nothing was mentioned regarding potential candidates who have noble character, who have the capacity to lead our country out of dark days, or who champion causes of actual importance. We only need to know who is likely to get votes.

Demographics are not sinful, but in elections, they represent the word that is most synonymous to sinfulness: selfishness. Why would it bother you that campaigns can successfully target a demographic by siding on an issue that represents them, and subsequently win their votes? Well, what bothers me is that we predictably vote for what is good for us before we vote for what is good for our country, or our state, or simply some other people who are just not us. Teachers are going to vote for schools. Latinos are going to vote for immigration. Rich people are going to vote for tax brackets. It's not mere irony if you vote in a way that helps your job, your family, your wallet, and when you get a vote that can help someone and you help yourself. This is how politicians get elected not for their character, but for their appeal. We instinctively villainize them because they've taken advantage of us, when maybe they just know us.

In the words of V, "If you're looking for someone to blame, you need only look in a mirror."

When Jesus showed up as the Messiah, everyone wanted him to change their nation to give them more freedom, give them more authority; with every question and favor that asked of Jesus, they were voting to help themselves. And as a paraphrased summary to Jesus' reply, he told them "You don't need to change your nation, you need to change yourselves." We don't like that kind of advice any more than they did, but as I look at our country, fragmented and largely dissatisfied, I hope that we'll understand that we're not discontent because our country reflects our values too little, but because it reflects them too much.

It's not our nation that desperately needs to change. It's us.