I know we are.
The purpose of a test is to see if the student has learned the material. Every day life tries to teach us something (many times more than one thing). If we’re paying attention, we might learn something. Somewhere along the line, life will test us to see if we learned anything from our experiences. Life will repeatedly test us on the same subjects throughout our lifetime. There are many types of tests - simple tests (e.g. true/false), multiple choice tests (e.g. how one reacts to a certain situation - anger, frustration, shrug it off, make good out of it), endurance tests (patience), and many more. Some tests require that in order to pass them, one must have passed a prior test. Some tests have different answers for different people. The goal of all the tests is to make us how to be a better person.
Sadly, some people refuse to learn and others try to cheat. They may or may not succeed in life, but had they passed the tests they might have found things a bit easier along the way.
I don't despise the Clintons'. They, like many other politicians are corrupt. I thought the Kennedys' were heavily corrupt as well. Do they equal the corruptness of ****p? History will tell.
I approach life from a different perspective than most. I try to approach them from the perspective of God. You ask if I'm a better person today than yesterday. Frankly, yes. As I said, life tests everyone to help make them a better person. What better person can there be than one with the characteristics of God (loving, merciful, patient, forgiving, etc.)? I see life's tests as a way to be more like Him. That’s my goal. I'm not going to say I pass all of life’s tests with flying colors. Not hardly. I fail many of them … miserably! I’m very impatient and I think most people are stupid (my OCD perfectionism). When I “take” life’s tests with these attitudes, I don’t usually learn the right lesson. Even so, as long as I hold onto God and Christ, they help make me a better person –despite my (many) faults.
You asked how my being a better person is manifested. The biggest way is in learning (trying) to love others... even if they don’t deserve it. And BOY is that hard! For example, I think the prez is the biggest “jerk” in the world. Even though he does many really stupid things, I try hard not to wish him harm… even though he may deserve it.
Shuhak 