Speeches and polls and votes. Oh, my!

Yes, the election is over. That does not mean that there won’t be extensive coverage of politics and endless analysis of speeches and strategy. It does mean that it’s time for everyone to stop arguing and bickering and figure out how to come together as a nation and remember that we are part of the global community.

There will always be some person or group that doesn’t believe or think the same thing that you do. Unfortunately, there will always be people (of all races and religions) that feel that what they believe and think is the only right way to believe and think. Those people feel that if you don’t believe what they believe, then you are wrong and must be convinced that you are wrong no matter what.

So many people were surprised when I encouraged them to vote no matter who they were voting for. In some cases, I knew that they were supporting the candidate that I did not. In most of those cases, they asked me why I was so fervent about everyone getting out to vote. My answer was simple – it is a right that was earned for us by countless people who gave their lives in service to this country and to the belief that people should have a say in their government. If we do not exercise our right to vote, we are saying, in effect, that their lives did not matter and that we do not care what happens in our country.

I don’t presume to tell anyone how they should vote. I think that voting is a very personal choice, just like religion, and that people need to make their decisions about whom they are going to vote for just like they need to make decisions about what they believe. If someone asks me about politics or religion, I will tell them what I think, but I will not tell they that what they think is either right or wrong based on what I think. I always encourage respectful dialog, which is not always possible with some people.

I am going to end this post by saying that I honestly believe that coming together as a nation is a choice. Either people choose to set aside their differences and agree to disagree in order to work together for the good of the nation, or they choose to crawl deeper into their miserable little caves, muttering about how everyone else is wrong and picking fights with the people who are choosing to try to work together. I hope that the vast majority of people fall into the former category.