Opposition in All Things

This post is as close as I will come to anything political :) As I have watched the campaigns for the past few months, the most amazing thing to me can be described like this- "Two people can watch the very same talk, ad, news program, debate, etc. and one calls it good and the other calls it evil." It really makes no difference which side you are on, the two peoples opinions are like night and day- or black and white- or dark and light. The scripture that immediately comes to mind is about "good being called evil and evil being called good in the last days". When I am trying to understand this mystery- I first think, "okay, two people can have such differing opinions because they have lived life with very differing experiences, influences, and culture. That does explain some of the differences. But when the opposite opinions start coming from people who have similar experiences and back ground (like members of the same family) then the "plot thickens". (I don't expect that I will understand this mystery in this life time- I think that knowledge will come much later when all things are known) But I do understand that two basic gospel principles will always exist- the need for opposition in all things and free agency. There will always be both good and evil, allowing us to choose what we will do. The real wild card here is satan's influence. He doesn't care whether you are democrat, republican, or independent. His influence is everywhere and he will take hold any where he can. He will influence all of our thoughts and feelings with things like greed, pride, untruth, arrogance, backbiting, revenge, etc. Oh what a tangled web we weave! So how is a person to know if what we think is good is really evil and what we think is evil is really good?
My belief is that God helps us choose but he won't force us to choose. The help that He gives us, as Elijah learned, can not be found in the " wind, or the earthquake, or the fire, but in a still small voice". (There are also a huge number of factors that influence our ability to recognize "the still small voice"- in fact , far too many to be typed here. ) Sometimes it takes a significant emotional experience for us to change our way of thinking and realize- maybe I was wrong in my judgment. God also allows those things to happen to us. The question was asked by someone who believes there is no God- "If there is God, why would he allow so many bad things to happen in this world?". One answer that was given, was "bad things happen so that we can choose to love God, rather than being forced to love God. " All about opposition in all things, and free agency for our own good. So... back to a more political thought- no matter who wins the election, half of the people will call it "good" and half of the people will call it "evil". Whatever the outcome- there will be lessons to be learned. Our only hope is that God is ultimately in charge and "all things will work for the good of those who love Him". That even all of the bad things will give us experience and will be for our good. On a more personal political note, Ron and I are toward the one end of the scale where things like increased capital gains tax could hurt. And we are also on the other end of the scale with a small business, wondering how it will pay its personal property tax and stay "a float amidst the (economical) storm".