The signs for the local candidates flood the roadsides, and I can’t help but think how many will be left there after the elections are decided. I understand disappointed candidates don’t much want to circle back around to pick signs for a losing campaign, but that comes with the territory.
We’ve also seen presidential campaign ads on the television. For the present, they are mostly two GOP candidates going after each other, but by Super Tuesday, the parties and two presidential candidates will go air ads that tout their strengths, as well as their opponent’s weaknesses. Just think; we’ll have to watch this garbage until November!
This is all well and good for the two men who will probably run for their respective parties. What I’d like to happen this year, however, is for supporters of those candidates try to return to a time of civility.
I’m as passionate as anyone about electing the leader of our country and admit that my behavior in the past has been less than exemplary. I bad-mouthed the other candidate when his supporters bad-mouthed mine. I tried arguing reasonably, only to fall into the trap of hatefulness and smugness. For the life of me, I couldn’t figure how anyone could vote for a person with so much extra baggage. Folks seemed to change from being political supporters to cult followers.
My parents were on opposite sides of the political spectrum. I would have liked to know why each chose their parties. I wonder if they ever argued over an election or a candidate. About the only thing I know is that every four years Daddy polished a brass ashtray that had an elephant standing on the back. Mother never said a word, but I’m sure his actions irked her.
The vitriol between some folks is almost palpable. Being members of their parties seems to have changed them. The far-right supporters seem like cult members. Their candidate can do no wrong, even though he might face plenty of legal troubles. The far-left supporters have no tolerance for people whose ideas might be different from theirs. They see our country as one drowning in unfairness, and they also have become self-designated guardians of the English language. Their goal is to remove all words that might ever offend a single person. I figure all that will be left in our vocabularies will be the words “a,” “an,” and “the.”
These days, my closest friends on the other side and I can argue and tease and laugh. We never wind up angry with each other. No part of politics is more important than our relationship. Our desires are the same: a strong country with freedom and quality leadership. I hope that we can count on those things from both candidates.
The country cannot survive much more of the bickering and squabbling over politics. The devotion of all citizens should be to the USA, not to candidates. If we keep that in mind, our chances of surviving this election season increase dramatically. All it takes is a bit of civility. Please use restraint and allow others to support their candidates without making derogatory comments of engage in physical hostilities. Maybe the best thing to guide us all is prayer and belief in the ideals that have made this country the best one in this world for several years.
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