Life,Liberty, and The Pursuit of Happiness . . . .and the bible? "Good" vs. "Evil"

I have been giving a lot of thought of late to the issues of political alignments.  In reading an article that stated there are not two, but three very defined parties which are Democrats, Republicans and Conservatives, I found myself pondering what all of those names mean. I have no desire, nor need, to get into whether one party right or wrong party to be affiliated with or whether Democrats or Republicans are good or evil.  Actually that is what my point to this particular rant is, the total absence of a need to classify political parties as good vs. evil or right vs. wrong.
I am a firm believer in the thought that there is no pure “good” and “evil”. (I have had various conversations regarding this topic, and it kinda stuck).  No person I have ever met is purely good, without a single bad trait to be seen.  Even those individuals described as “Saints” have their faults.  Also, I do not know that a person can be utterly and indecisively evil.  Although there are a multitude of criminals either in the prison system or in the legal system who seem to be 100% evil, I believe they must have some shred of “good” in them.  Maybe as a child they were joyful and happy, or maybe at one time, even if only once, they gave a piece of food to a hungry person.  Maybe they are 99.9% evil, but there was that one second in their life that they helped an elderly lady across the street.  Now that doesn’t mean that I do not believe they deserve to be punished for their crimes.  There are stories out there of indescribably horrible acts of evil that can absolutely make a person cringe and be sick to their stomach.  Those behaviors must, and should, be punished.  Many of those individuals are not capable of, and should not be allowed to be, a meaningful part of society.  So, basically, I believe that the majority of society lies somewhere in the middle of the range between good and evil.  We all have our moments when we can accomplish or carry out an extreme act of kindness or good doing.  We all also have those moments we will regret for the rest of our days as one of our lowest moments.  What is the point of this, you might ask.  I have heard and debated issues of political nature many times, and of course with the upcoming election it has been a more frequent occurrence.  Inevitably during an election period you begin to hear a lot of the debates regarding who is right and who is wrong, who is good and who is evil.  With this particular election, there have been many discussions of what is Christian and what is not.  Is one party following the teachings of Christ over another and who is looking out for the best interest of the country?  I honestly do not believe that Barrack Obama, Joe Biden, Mitt Romney or Paul Ryan are “evil”.  Nor do I believe that anyone, affiliated with either party, who sits in the house or senate at either the federal or state levels are “evil”.  Nor do I believe any of them are purely “good”.  What I do believe is that each of them are doing what they personally feel is in the best interest of our country.  I do not believe entirely with any of these men, and align very little with two in particular.  I still do not wish to condemn them.  I do not believe they, or anyone else in political power, are “out to destroy” our nation.  I do not believe that, as I have heard in the months before an election of every presidential race I can remember, that "the world as we know it will end and nothing will be the same" based on who wins.  It may take a different track than I would like or that someone else would like, but end . . . . Nah, thats the stuff of movies. The bottom line is this is a country based on freedom, a country based on democracy and the rights of the people.  We were given certain “inalienable” rights, among which are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.  What does that mean?  Amongst the huge multitude of definitions of what that means is the fact that we all have the right and the ability to think for ourselves, to choose to follow a candidate that we feel our value system is aligned with.  So, are any of these men more Christian than another?  Are any of these men more devote to their country than another?  How should I know!  I do not know their soul, I do not know their heart and I do not speak to them on a day to day basis to be able to see what “good” or “evil” things they may do in their lives.  The best decision I can make on what to believe is which person my own belief systems aligns the best with.
Any person, who claims to be a Christian, can also find validation for the thoughts and actions they rely on as a Christian in the text of the bible.  In an intriguing conversation with a wise individual it was pointed out to me what a paradox the bible can truly be.  (As can be applied to any other form of religion and their documented teachings.)  Keeping in mind that both this individual and myself consider ourselves to be Christian and both accept the bible as the teachings of Christ, we were also able to agree on how differently the information in the bible can be perceived.  This has nothing to do with how devoutly one studies the bible, or how much of a “bible scholar” they may be, nor does it necessarily matter which particular form of Christianity you consider yourself to be.  The intriguing part of this to me, the part that has sent my brain into overdrive thinking over this realization, is that whether a person is democrat or republican, conservative or liberal, however one views social welfare programs and how they should be carried out, or are in favor of or against gay marriage (or any other host of controversial topics), there can be found scripture to support their viewpoint.  So, how does one determine which is right and which is wrong?  What is “good” and what is “evil”?  Who is out to save our nation and who is out to destroy it?  The bottom line is, we are.  We, the people of the United States of America are both right and wrong, we are both “good” and “evil” and we are both out to save and destroy our nation.  There is no black and white.  We are all made up of a variety of opinions and beliefs that we hold dear and feel are “right”.  So, you are now thinking, “What the heck is this crazy lady saying?”  I promise, I am almost to my point in this rant.
The bottom line is we all have political issues and agendas that mean more to us than others.  The reason certain things mean more to us than others is because of our belief system.  This country was built on the bases of faith, freedom and a new start from the dictatorship of England.  We are a country that holds separation of church and state in high regards, as we should.  But we are also a country that holds freedom of religion in just as high standards.  We do not want to cross the lines of church and state, however it is imperative to our survival as human beings that we make our decisions about what is “right” and “wrong” based on our belief system, our faith, whatever it might be.  If a person casts their vote based on their faith and/or their beliefs, their obligation to uphold their belief system or faith has been fulfilled.  I have heard comments throughout life such as “that person will lead us all to hell” or “that person is our salvation”.  This, in my opinion is simple untrue.  It is a personal journey we all take to salvation.  We have our own choices and decisions to make and our path will be determined by that.  The bottom line is, at the end of the day, when you lay your head upon your pillow, you should be able to say “I am happy with the decisions I made today.  I am happy with the choices I made.”  Past that, there is really nothing we can do.  No one will find out if they were right or wrong until we die.  Search your soul and choose the path you feel will lead you where you need to go.   With that being said, I would strongly urge anyone who is planning on voting in the upcoming national election for president to use this basic principal when determining which name to put their mark next to.  This is NOT a democrat vs. republican statement, nor is it a liberal vs. conservative statement.  It is a statement made by a member of these United States who truly believes in our system of government, our rights and our freedoms.  Do not look at party affiliations when it comes time to vote this year.  Do not vote based on “the party my parents voted for” or “the party with the good looking candidate”.  Take a moment to find out exactly what each candidate stands for.  What are their beliefs?  What do they hold as important issues and where do they stand on them?  How do I believe in regards to those issues?  Make a list of pros and cons and figure out who you are most comparable to.  Remember, neither of these men are “good” or “evil”.  They are both.  They are not out to ruin our country, merely lead it in the way THEY feel is the best direction.  Research, read, and truly care about where your vote will land before you cast it.