The other day, I was getting pretty tired of the media-based brainwashing and mudslinging going on when it comes to two certain people in the world today, so I decided to look up the definition of what politics actually is. Wikipedia's definition is as follows:

Politics (from Greek: πολιτικός politikos, definition "of, for, or relating to citizens") is the process of making decisions applying to all members of a group. More narrowly, it refers to achieving and exercising positions of governance — organized control over a human community, particularly a state.

Indeed, it's as I suspected. Politics is about highly mature things like governance and creating a certain order in society aimed at (ideally) furthering the common good. So, what's up with CNN nowadays, not to mention the best of us Christians, when we get together to talk politics over cappuccinos? To put it bluntly, many of us tend to act a little like animals in front of grisly bones when it comes to discussing this lofty thing called “politics.”

If wisdom were on our side, we would use even politics to bring out the best in us – the chivalry, the compassion, the benevolence, the innate goodness woven into our souls by our Creator. Each one of us is truly capable of magnificent things, and so are our politicians. We must make God the God of our carefully chosen political stances, not just of our personal prayer lives when no one else is looking.

If we call ourselves Catholics, let us be Catholics from the moment we wake up to the moment we enter the voting booth to the moment we say our Act of Contrition at night. If we call ourselves followers of Christ, let us weigh our political decisions on His scale – that of the Ten Commandments. The political positions we hold must show the colors of a God-fearing heart; they must be evidence of the God of life we believe in and claim to cherish. They must testify to the beauty of Christian marriage and the tiny golden gift of an unborn child; they must uphold the right to liberty that has been won by bloodshed, and hail the dignity of hard work and the freedom of religion.

In the end, we have to heed the call to justice. In the book series In Conversation With God, Fr. Francis Fernandez explains:

Justice is founded on the inviolable dignity of the human person, created in God's image and likeness and destined to enjoy eternal happiness forever in heaven. ... Proper regard fro the rights of individuals begins with the just ordering of civil law, to the upholding of which we Christians have to contribute with all of our strength as exemplary Christians, beginning with laws that defend the right to life, that first of all rights, from the very moment of conception.

And now for the bombshell: Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are children of God. They were created masterfully by our good God, in His image and likeness, capable of towering greatness and sanctity. Whether they acknowledge this or act like it is, of course, a cause of immense concern. Regardless, they are people. They have families, they eat and drink and sleep and enjoy watching the sunset. They are, in some fashion, worthy of at least a shred of our respect and especially, our prayers.

To this I plead guilty – I admit. How many times do I lift up political candidates in prayer with a merciful heart to God on high, begging Him to change her heart and one day gain the Beatific Vision? Get real! When I hear some of their names, I don't just grow horns — I grow something like spiked antlers drenched in poison, from a monstrous elk of Montana.

Is my anger really helping? And the gossip and slander – is it taking our country the route it needs to go – not to mention the entire world, which is watching America's political scene like a hawk? Of course not. Join me in trying to change the tide. No – sorry – join me in changing the tide. Our country is too broken and sinful to have citizens that are just trying to better her.

Condemn the sin? Absolutely, absolutely. Condemn the sinner? Not necessarily. Tired of politics? Yes – actually no. Tired of what politics has become? Definitely. Ladies and gentlemen, let's let real politics flower and come to life among us. An organized but limited government which sacrifices itself to keep America “one nation, under God, with life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” may sound like a dream, but with enough prayer and plenty of fighting spirit, it's one dream that just might come close to true.