It’s voting day and as I’m driving, our National Anthem plays on the radio. Tears well in my eyes, but it isn’t from the usual patriotic pangs. Instead, it’s depression. Sadness that our politics have created an environment rampant with fear and anger, infecting us all. Including me.
Working in marketing for decades, I know one of the most effective ways to get people to act is by inducing fear. Both parties use it with little care for what it leaves behind: an us vs. them mentality. With each election, it becomes more difficult for Congress and state houses to forge compromises across the aisle. Each side questions the others’ humanity, leaving our politics looking more like three-year-olds fighting over toys than adults guiding one of the world’s best nations.
This must stop! Our country’s strength has always been in our diverse backgrounds, experiences and lifestyles. We need to recognize that just because someone votes for a different politician, it doesn’t mean they are less than us. People’s priorities are based on where they live, their occupations, how they worship and what they’ve endured. Everyone does their best to survive and give their families a brighter future.
Last week, I drafted a blog post about respecting and honoring everyone, and the importance of not letting the election bring out the worst in us. But that felt hypocritical, so I never published it. While I respect others’ rights to vote for who they want, I had occasional angry outbursts (usually during the nightly news). Each time I’d lost it, I’d contributed to the negative energy wave engulfing our country. I can’t expect others to be 100% consistently positive and respectful when I haven’t maintained that myself.
We must find a way to rise above the nastiness. We are Americans. We all want the best for ourselves and our loved ones. We are all doing the very best that we can. Let’s not label and demonize one another.
Once the presidential winner is declared (experts are saying it may take days to determine the winner), there will be a tremendous number of people whose candidate did not win. My plea is that we respect the system and each other, as well as look for opportunities to reform our politics.
May our country learn to rise above the pettiness of the human condition.
#allmyownwords