Why I Hate Election Years

Let me start by saying, I love election years. I love that we have election years. I love that I live in a country where I can vote, and you can vote, and in the end, we have more or less selected the people who will, at the most, lead the country the way we want them to, and at the least, well... lead the country.

Hopefully.

Now that I've said that, let me say this:

I hate election years.

 It all just gets so....icky.

Pre-election year, I had friends. In most cases, I didn't know if they were Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Green Party, or something else. And if I did know, it wasn't something we talked about much. It wasn't something that divided us, or separated us, or caused us to think horrible thoughts about one another. It didn't matter. They were my friends first, and everything else second.

But now, thanks to Facebook, and Twitter, and email, I'm pretty clear where many of them stand politically, which is fine. But I'm also pretty clear on what a lot of them think about people like me. And I'm clear on what some of them think about people like you.

Because, somehow, that's what it's come down to. If you vote this way, you're one of those. And if you vote that way, well, you're one of those.

Did you know that someone shot at an Obama campaign office?

Did you know that there are now death threats all over twitter against Romney?

Really?

OK, fine, so those are extreme examples. But attacks are taking place every day. Most of them just don't happen to involve actual guns or death threats.

Most just involve incredible amounts of name calling, and head shaking, and finger pointing.

Somehow, electing our country's next President has come down not to what great things I think my guy can do for this country, but how horrible your guy is. It's not about the strengths of my candidate. It's about the weaknesses of yours. It's not about the hope I feel when I think of what good thing can happen if mine is in charge, it's the depression I feel when I think of yours.

Not to say that there isn't some validity in that line of thinking, of course. We're all entitled to our opinions, and I for one am grateful to live in a place where we can share them freely.

But it's no longer just about the candidates. It's also about the voters.

As this election draws near, it's not about what you or I want for this country. It's about how what I want is better than what you want. Because I'm one of them and you...well, you're one of those. More than once, I have seen posts or emails by otherwise compassionate, intelligent people calling anyone who would vote for the other guy names like "stupid", "naive", "clueless", "hateful", and "crazy".

Senders of emails I've received have clearly assumed, for whatever reason, that I am "one of them", as if it never occurred to them that, with all that we have in common, I could lean in a slightly different direction than they do politically.

I realize there's a lot at stake here. I realize that people love this country and want what they believe to be best for it, and have a hard time imagining what will happen if their guy doesn't win.

But I just have to say: Please, get a grip.

Call me naive, but I thought we all wanted the same things.

I thought we all wanted to live in a peaceful world, with healthy kids, where there's help for people who need a hand up, but also jobs, and social security, and laws that protect us, while still allowing us the freedom to make the decisions that we decide are best for us and our families.

I mean...is there anyone who doesn't want those things?

We just have different ideas of how to get them. My way may not be your way. Your way may not be my way. But neither of us is stupid, naive, clueless, hateful, or crazy just because we don't vote the same way

For other reasons, maybe. But not for the way we vote .

If your guy gets elected, I will drink several beers and rant to my husband, who will roll his eyes at me and ask why there's no football on TV, and then I will get over it, grateful that I live in a country where we had--and have-- a say.

I will also know that life goes on, and that if things don't go well, there's always next time.

What I won't do is call people stupid, naive, clueless, hateful, or crazy because of the way they voted. I'll assume that the vast majority of them voted thoughtfully and with their conscious, with what they believed to be our country's best interest at heart.

Then I'll pray that God changes their minds by the time the next election comes around.

But I'll never tell them that.

 I'll also hope for the best, and live my life the best way I know how, and remember that regardless of who's in office, we're all supposed to be on the same team.

And the irony is, if my guy wins, well, I'm pretty sure I'll do the same things.