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.

Politics (I can't help it)

Okay, I just have to say that this whole campaign is getting (and actually has been for a while) ridiculous. I just saw a guy on a CNN panel (a truly independent guy who is not partisan) say that we should put this stuff in context because back in the late 1800 the candidates were saying things like their opposition's wife/mother/sister were prostitutes and accusing each other of crimes against humanity. Really? We need to put all of this nastiness in perspective?

I don't care if it is small or insignificant compared to what happened in campaigns over 100 years ago. It's petty and is dragging everything down. I was looking forward to this election because I truly believe that this is going to be the most important election in my lifetime (so far), and now I can't wait until it's over.

I have coworkers ranting about how they don't want to live in a communist country. Since when are communism and socialism the same thing? Don't get me wrong - I'm not saying that I want the country to become a socialist state. I do, however, believe that certain things should be rights of citizenship, like health care and post-secondary education. Does that make me a socialist? Maybe, but it seems to be working in other advanced countries around the world, so why not give it a try here?

My husband heard a Democrat (who voted Republican after 9/11, but is supporting Obama this year) call into a conservative talk-radio program today. He explained why he was supporting Obama - that he felt that Obama has what's needed right now to get the country back on track. The host asked him to call back on six months and give them an update on how he was feeling if Obama gets elected. He responded that he absolutely would and that he hopes he's not eating crow. The host responded to him, "I hope you ARE eating crow."

Was it just me or did that sound like the host wants the country to continue in a downward spiral if Obama is elected? Hopefully he was thinking very narrowly and only in reference to his party and how he wants his party to win. The bottom line is that no matter who is elected president on November 4th, I hope that everyone - Democrat, Republican, Independent, and Other - is pulling for the United States to come out of this economic downturn (because they haven't officially labeled it a recession yet) quickly.