I tell you folks, all politics is applesauce.
~Will Rogers

Applesauce-making is one of my more satisfying domestic activities.  Peeling and coring apples can be tedious, as there are always plenty of bad spots to cut out. Though uncommon in our organic orchard, there is the occasional wiggling worm to find and dispose of before cooking. 

Our late summer transparent apples make a creamy tart sauce smooth to the tongue. With all the careful preparation before cooking, all blemishes are removed, with any extra unwanted wormy protein deposited in the compost bucket along with mountains of peel, cores and seeds.

If only our two main political parties would pick and prepare their presumptive nominees with as much concern and care…

Would that we could similarly pare out, peel off, dispose in the compost all the political flyers flooding our mailbox, the robo-call telephone messages asking for donations, the radio, TV and internet ads that burden us all until we crack and break under the weight. Most of the election fruit ends up rotting on the tree, turning us all to mush in the process. I’m weary just thinking about the millions of dollars spent in advertising these two (as yet) unofficial presidential candidates that could be used for far greater good and benefit for the citizenry.

Now we have a televised debate where one candidate is clearly incapable of providing coherent answers and the other, a convicted felon who spouts lies that go unchallenged as a result. It is clear now the whole kettle of sauce is spoiled. We could cook it all day long and there still are worms waving in the air, rotten cores festering, scabby peels floating on top, with the bottom scalding with the heat of the cook stove. 

Our political parties have profoundly failed the American people by propping up candidates unworthy of the office. I pray for a day when we can set our differences aside and raise up leaders who can do so as well. We must blend together our diverse flavors and characteristics for the good of all. Then, “applesauce” politics won’t simply be a mixture of nonsense and BS, as Will Rogers implies, but something actually nourishing for a flourishing future.

That’ll be the day…

There are men running governments who shouldn’t be allowed to play with matches.
~Will Rogers