For the most part... I hate politics. And I hate the current state of American Politics. And no matter who you voted for, I think we can all agree that that was a brutal and uncompromising campaign we just witnessed.
When I say I hate politics, I don't mean that I don't have opinions, or that I don't have strong opinions. I have my own beliefs about the way the country should be run. It is highly likely that they are different from yours. And truthfully, I think for many people, political beliefs are as deeply ingrained in their personality and their soul as, say, their spirituality or their faith. Debates about politics are, often and for the most part, futile. You think, or hope, that you might be able to move someone whose political affiliations oppose your own.... but it's much more likely that you can't. In the end, you will probably just get into a screaming match in which you're both blue in the face, calling each other terrible names, and feeling far more divided than you had before.
Oh, wait, we just watched that actually unfold on television for the past year. Literally that -- the blue in the face, the name calling, and the horrible, unmoving, divisions.
So I have made a list! A list of the Things I Think We Need to Change About Politics But That Won't Happen and I Should Probably Just Give Up Before I Give Myself a Hernia:
1. The horrible name calling. And I mean, horrible. And I mean -- "If you don't agree with my party, then you are obviously a moron without a brain and nothing you have to say is worth hearing because I don't associate myself with ignorant, stupid people." ... And this is often coming from the mouth of someone who simultaneously preaches bipartisanship in this country. HOW? How could I possibly try to work with/converse with someone who has called me ignorant and uninformed before I even open my mouth? I mean, who doesn't love being called ignorant and uninformed? That's a real discussion opener.
ON OPPOSITE DAY.
2. The personal attacks that somehow seem to matter more than actual policy. Is it just me, or did we see a campaign that was almost exclusively based on tearing the opponant down? Is it beyond hopefully idealistic of me to think that politics should be about SUPPORTING the candidate you believe in, instead of trying to ruin the man he's running against? And when I say ruin -- I mean personally ruin, with the name calling and the character attacks. Aaand we're back to that, yes.
For me, it is disappointing to watch, and disappointing to listen to, so much negativity. I come back to that being a focal point for divisivness, anger, and, yes, even hatred. I think if we ran future campaigns that were more focused on positive support for one candidate or the other... it would foster better relations between the parties and it would make it easier to come together afterwards. There is too much anger and hate in politics. TOO MUCH. And.... Oh, I seem to have come back to the horrible name-calling again.
3. 2 Billion Dollars down the drain. I mean really, that money would have been better spent pretty much anywhere else. Enough said.
4. Well, I guess that's it. I am just tired of the complete and total lack of respect for other people's opinions. I'm tired of the hatred and anger. I'm tired of hearing cries for unity when all I can see are the gaping chasms that separate us -- the gaping chasms that have been pointed out to me over and over for months.
So for the most part, I am just relieved it's over. And I hope the name calling will cease. I hope the anger will fade. And I hope we can go back to being a one country, whole, and focused on the things that unite us.
For the next two years at least, before it starts all over again.
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