When I wrote the first Wise Guyde column 29 months ago, I said that I would keep away from politics. The present state of our public discourse, coupled with my recent reading of Gandhi’s autobiography, has persuaded me that this is not an ethical option.

Earlier this week, the Cafe Society spent their Tuesday morning meeting discussing who should be Donald Trump’s running mate. If I were a really thorough columnist, I would have called to ask them why they were doing that. Maybe they just thought it would be entertaining to make fun of The Donald for a while. It is however possible that they thought serious adults should weigh in on this topic and I will concede that it could be a worthy exercise to see what different reasons someone may have for choosing this or that running mate. Should it be someone to balance the ticket geographically, or demographically, or to balance it by age or gender or a combination of these? But why Mr. Trump? Why not Hillary’s running mate? Or Bernie Sanders’? Apparently Donald Trump is just more interesting.

We have to keep in mind that we are the nation that elected Tricky Dick Nixon in 1968 even though there were posters plastered all over the country with a huge picture of Himself over the caption “Would you buy a used car from this man?” We believed him when he said he had a secret plan to end the war but he would not announce it until after the election. (Shades of Trump’s tax returns.) Wonder of wonders we then re-elected him by a landslide just five months after the Watergate break in when there was widespread belief that he was the brains behind it.

A worthier subject for the perusal of a gathering of The Wise, which the Cafe Society surely is, would be Love. Back in the 14th century there was a Persian Sufi mystical poet named Hafiz. One of his poems goes like this: “The subject tonight is love/and for tomorrow night as well. / As a matter of fact, / I know of no better topic/For us to discuss/ Until we all/ Die!” In another poem called “Deepening the Wonder”, Hafiz writes, “If I were in the Tavern tonight, / Hafiz would call for drinks/ And as the Master poured, I would be reminded/ That all I know of life and myself is that/ We are just a midair flight of golden wine/ Between His Pitcher and His Cup.”

Believers have long held that “God is Love and whoever abides in Love abides in God and God abides in (that person).” Personally I believe that we are, in essence, Love. The reason for all the discord on the planet is the constant interference from our respective egos. The more each of us moves our ego off center in our psyche, the more Love arisesthe Love that was always there but concealed by the egoic facade. We do that by regular spiritual practice such as meditation and/or yoga and by the focused pursuit of higher consciousness. This brings us into the Great Mystery known as the Wisdom of Uncertainty as we release the control our egos treasure and swim free in the marvelous mysterious Universe of Spirit. Hafiz puts it this way, “The miraculous existence and impermanence of / Form/ Always makes the Illumined Ones Laugh and sing.”

Isn’t that a worthier topic for the Cafe Society than Donald Trump’s running mate? I send Love to the Cafe Society and to Donald Trump.

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