It's Over--So Drop It

My mother always told me there were two things a hostess should avoid as topics of conversation during a dinner--politics and religion.  The inclusion of those topics would insure a polite dinner turning into a shouting match.  As usual, mom was right.

I make it a point not to discuss politics at all.  I prefer to read and listen then make up my own mind.  I also don't tell who I vote for.  That's my business and it's private.  I wish I could say the same for everyone else!

The weeks leading up to the presidential election have been a miserable time to endure.   I have rarely been subjected to such endless diatribe against both candidates.  The utter viciousness of the attacks has left me unsettled and concerned.  Blame and finger pointing have been leveled for everything from hurricanes and drought to global economy--by both parties at both parties.  And this isn't happening on television but in my town by my friends.  Neighbor has turned against neighbor and the intensity of the attacks has been unnerving to say the least. 

The last straw for me was the day after the election when a young man I know posted on Facebook that he was "unfriending" everyone who hadn't agreed with him during the election.  Really?  I thought that was the reason that this country was originally founded--so we could have an opinion that was different from someone else.  In the process we decided that the leaders would be elected by a vote of the people they would govern.  Once elected they would strive to do the best for the country and ALL of the people.  When did this change into the back-biting, self-serving party system in place now?  When did belonging to one party or the other mean you were automatically a *&*%%^$#$ son-of-a-bitch? 

I guess I am simple minded, but I seem to think that if all the men and women elected to to various seats in Washington worked for the betterment of the country (instead of their own agendas) it might actually result in some good for the people of that country.  That was the idea right?  I also seem to remember that the Constitution has a built in set of checks and balances to ensure that we don't slip into a dictator type leadership.  (The old guys who wrote that declaration had been there and done that!)  So the election of one person to lead the nation shouldn't automatically ensure that total destruction of the nation will automatically occur.  So I guess all of those of you have been loudly decrying the downfall of the United States in only a matter of days, can unpack your bags and stick around.   Have a little faith that the idea of democracy first envisioned all those years ago by a group of citizens hungry for the freedom to make their own choices will work no matter who is elected as top dog.

Especially drop all this agonizing, name calling, shouting, and abuse and get back to the important things in life like hugging your kids and enjoying the time you have!!
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"Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer.  Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past.  Let us accept our own responsibility for the future."
                                  -John F. Kennedy-