In the midst of the third and final presidential debate on October 19, Donald Trump captured the tenor of the entire election season when he responded to Secretary Clinton with "I'm not the puppet, you are !” The exchange summed up how juvenile and petty the campaign has become on both sides. It also demonstrated how sad the situation has become for American governance. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be banned"? Get an original essay Gone are the days, if there ever were, when politicians campaigned on these issues. When both sides of the aisle at least agreed on what the facts were and then shared their different solutions based on each party's platform and core understandings Gone are the days when a Ronald Reagan Republican and a Tip O'Neill Democrat could butt heads in the halls of Congress and then at the end of the day share a drink at a local pub knowing the truth. deep that they both shared the same values ​​and concerns in this great country of ours. Today, we have two presidential candidates who publicly dislike each other so much that they are unwilling or unable to share the civil courtesy of a handshake at the outset. at the end of their final debate. Despite all the juvenile behavior, on November 8, we, the people of the United States of America, will elect a new president. Who that person will be, I have no idea. But I have to ask this question to the winner, or I should say to the winning party: "is it worth it." Over the past eighteen months, they have done little more than divide this nation with half-truths, innuendo and outright lies. Their counter-rhetoric destroyed any faith we had in our government and the electoral process. They have left this country on the brink of anarchy no matter which candidate wins. Somewhere along the way we forgot that we are a nation made up of a diversity of humanity. A nation once proud to be the melting pot of the world, a country where every citizen was defined first as an American and then by ethnicity. We were once a country that welcomed refugees and the poor with open arms, assuring them that a better life could be found within our borders. Unfortunately this is no longer the case. And if there were any shreds of our past values ​​left, this election cycle has trampled them. Today we are no longer defined first and foremost as Americans, but as conservatives and liberals. How we define ourselves determines what news we listen to, what absolute opinions we have on gun control, abortion, immigration, etc. And dare I say it, depending on how we define ourselves along the conservative/liberal spectrum also determines how we define who is just or unjust before God. As much as I would like to lament the good old days, history tells us that life is not changed a lot over the years, just the issues we fight about. As Christians, we need look no further than first-century Palestine. Then, the Israel of Jesus' day was a house divided. There were the Zealots, who not only desired Israeli independence, but were willing to take up arms and fight against Rome. Then there were the Pharisees, the equivalent of today's far right. They too aspired to independence, but unlike the zealots they were not willing to do anything hastily. The slow and steady approach worked perfectly. They believed that if they were good, if they were faithful to the Torah and lived a completely “kosher” life, then Yahweh would free them from their bondage. I believe the Gospel writers were often unfair to the Pharisees. Yes, they were stiff. They saw most.