There is an old saying - those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. I don't really know where that came from, but that has been my overwhelming thought the last couple of weeks, when watching the political conventions. Or not watching them, really. Because I don't actually care what they say at the conventions, which I think are exhorbitantly expensive relics of an earlier time that should go the way of the dinosaur. It looks to me like there are glass shards all over the ground, and it's sort of fascinating watching the two sides fall all over themselves in their anxious rush to step on them first. I wonder if it's the same drive that led Nero to fiddle? But that's all a lie, it turns out, so anyway....
If you think I'm taking sides on this post, you are crazy. People I dearly love can be found on both sides of every issue, and I'm not into offending anyone, much less those I care about and depend on to love me back. Everyone who knows me already knows where I sit, and I'm pretty much always there, never change, doesn't matter whether I am rich or poor, young or old. I think life is pretty much lived in the gray area, so that's where you will find me. That would be the middle ground, where everything is not black and white, clear and simple. Most of the time. Not always. I am not a moral relativist, as my children will be happy to tell you. Some things are black and white.
Um... where was my ritalin?
Anyway, I do have something to say on the current political situation, although it will disappoint my newly activated son, who has strong opinions on everything. [I miss being 23 when life was so much more clear. But then again, I was probably never as opinionated, nor as well read, as he is. Apparently I wasn't as smart, either, since I was married at 23 and he isn't, but I think I'm wandering again....] Here is my ground breaking revelation. I think all four candidates are flawed. Seriously flawed. Not because they are bad people, but because they are human, and we are all flawed. I want you to ask yourself - who do you know in politics that is perfect? Or even close?
I am of the opinion that to want to be involved in politics in the first place, you have to have an ego the size of Alaska, [notice the current and topical reference here, I am on the ball,] and a skin thicker than elephant hide. You would not get into politics if you didn't think you knew more than everyone who is already there, whatever position you are running for. Somehow, I do not see these as the top qualities you are trying to instill in your children, if you have them. Or looking for in a spouse, if that's where you're at. Or even desirable traits in a friend, to be honest. These people are not role models, they are politicians. Think about it.
Which is really the theme of this little post. Thinking about it. Please. Our country is in a vulnerable place, from a lot of directions. This voting is serious business, and we need to take it seriously. Know who you are voting for and why. Know their positions, their policies, their experience or lack thereof. Judge the candidates, all four of them, on whatever criteria you want. But judge each one fairly and squarely on the basis of what is actually there, same criteria for all, not what the other side tells you, or worse yet, based on what you read in an e-mail forwarded from someone who doesn't even realize they are being used. If you don't usually take forwards seriously, why would you base your political opinion in the most important election in a generation on information from a chain letter?
And then, when it's all over, I'd like you to think about something else for a minute. Like I said, people I love and care about can be found on both sides of the aisle. How is it that people I respect can have such different opinions?
We keep hearing, from both sides, how we are the most divided populace in the history of our country, how we have diametrically opposing points of view with no common ground. And yet, when I am out in the world, I find that most people are pretty much like me. They have too much to do with too little time to do it, they are worrying about their kids or their pets or their jobs or their house, and the most important thing they have on their mind is what they are going to make for dinner, because they forgot to take meat out of the freezer. Unfortunately, I feel like the only people we are hearing from are the agenda-driven fringes on both ends, while the moderates in the middle remain largely silent. But maybe that's just me. Where I see a bell curve, other people see the bell cracked, I guess.
Anyway, from where I'm sitting, neither party looks 100% good or bad, and neither are their candidates. There is something to like about each of them, and there are things to disagree with as well. I exhort you to listen to the candidates themselves, read their platform and their agenda in their own words, compare it with how they have lived their lives and what they have accomplished when given the opportunities, and take it all with a grain of salt. Or a salt mine.
Your vote is precious, bought with the sacrifice of a lot of American lives, both Republican and Democrat. They say there are no atheists in fox holes, and I would believe it. I don't think there are Democrats or Republicans, either. I think we are all Americans, and as we go to the polls, I hope that we will all remember we are Americans first, last and always.
Happy voting!
