Looking Forward To The End

Most of us who vote, and others who unfortunately don't care to vote, are very edgy right now.  

Screaming curse words at their flat screen tv's, arguing openly with their friends about who won this or who lost that, and posting messages online cheering on their favorite contenders and bashing their favorite's opponents.

No, I'm not referring to the Cardinals as they fight for 12 in 12, or to the Rams who finally have a chance for a winning season.

What I'm talking about is the presidential election season featuring the openly agressive campaigns between President Obama and Governor Romney and a cast of millions who have chosen sides and dug their heels into the ground.

This is a time when long time friends have become your enemies with any type of gesture or word against your chosen candidate.

It's clearly Republicans versus Democrats.  It's conservatives versus liberals. It's open warfare and it's not pretty, not effective and it changes no one's mind in any way, shape or form.

One simply needs to read the political blogs in our own O'Fallon Patch to understand what I am saying.  It's political trash talk at it's best, and that's bad. 

Now that the election is three weeks away the intensity of the heat is in full swing, and sadly, most of it is negative.

Neither candidate nor party ever detail what they will do when elected, only what the other candidate or party cannot do or hasn't done. A campaign of hate and negativity from the top filters down througout the country. We are in verbals wars with our friends and our neighbors.  It's wrong.

I am not tired of the presidential issues that are at hand and I am happy that we can all go to the polls and make our individual choice for president on November 6th. 

What has worn me out mentally and emotionally is what I have experienced personally during this whole year - the division and a lot of hate among my friends and my Facebook friends.  

It goes without question that politics can bring out the worst in some people.  I have seen that in personal conversations with my friends and with the vast negativity I see and no longer read or pay attention to on my Facebook page.

A recent post on Facebook read, "I hope I still like all of my friends after election season."  I hope so too. I'm not sure.

This comical post is much more than humorous, it is true.  Some people can be the best of friends, but as soon as their political beliefs are aired with no intention to have a positive and open discussion, it all goes down hill. Lifetime buddies are now at each other's throats.  

In my case, an old college girlfriend from my distant past will no longer communicate with me and I will not communicate with her. Why?  Because I expressed concerns over her political stance and she did the same with me. Camelot ends before it even started again.

November 6th can't come soon enough.

Either President Obama will remain as president or Governor Romney will become our president.

We need to get back to focusing clearly on the issues that affect all of us.

Whether whoever wins the election does what they've been promising they will do to help our country is another story.  Very seldom do these promises become reality. I hope they do, but I doubt it.

The anger between both parties, the back stabbing and anger is for the birds.

We make presidential elections more and more like the Super Bowl, the World Series, the NBA  Championship and the Stanley Cup playoffs every year.

Can't we just get along?