As We Wind Down

Ok, so the election is upon us. After around 2 years of "My opponent believes..." and "I promise you...", we are down to the final stretch. Now is the time for last ditch efforts, get out the vote campaigns and long lines at your local polling place. "I Voted" stickers are everywhere, polls are being conducted every ten minutes and the pundits are going crazy.

Everyone has election fever. People are getting defensive about their positions, defensive to the point of forgetting who their friends are. Why is this? Why would you alienate the people you know in favor of some guy who will likely never know you exist? It is definitely important to have political views, and to be able to defend them well, but there needs to be a line somewhere. When intelligent debate turns into belligerent spewing of rhetoric, there is a problem. Not only does this make you appear to be uneducated, it also causes your friends to feel like a normal conversation with you is no longer possible. Passion is good, but only if it has a direction to it. Use your strong feelings for your candidate of choice in a good way, not one that turns people off.

Keep in mind how important it is to be fair to each candidate. Don't spread around things about either candidate, good or bad, without first checking the facts. Snopes.com and factcheck.org are great places to start. Don't believe every forward you read, or every voting guide you are handed. Don't believe everything people tell you, but instead do your own research.

And, no matter what happens tomorrow at the polls, remember this: no matter who wins, whether you agree with him or not, he deserves your respect as the leader of your nation. If you don't like it, feel free to say so, as long as you voted. You can join in with other people in voicing their dissatisfaction by campaiging for change in the next available election. Use your voice in a positive way rather than just complaining. If your man wins, celebrate, but not to the point of being obnoxious. We are all Americans, created equal, worthy of respect.