the election is almost over

well, the worst of it is almost over. and I have to say I'm relieved. I'm just tired of all the commercials, all the bashing of each other, and all the stupid negativity. there's a reason I say I'm a cynic in my "political affiliation" on facebook, and it can be summed up in one word: "nobama." 

now I get that everyone's entitled to their opinion, and everyone can vote for whoever they want to vote for. I get it. That's the way it's SUPPOSED to work. But why is it okay with everyone that we bash the crap out of each other? Take a local example, there's this guy named Andrew Rice running for office, and he's running against a guy who's been in office like 20 years. His argument is that Mr. 20 year office has been there too long and has lost his way in the politics of it all. Not the nicest thing to say, but, it could be a legit concern. 20 minutes in politics can ruin someone, so 20 years might be too much. But then all these attack adds are launched against Rice, talking about what a horrible person he is. He spent a good chunk of time on the mission field, he can't be all that bad. And it seems odd to me that a Republican would bad-mouth a missionary too. 

the other reason I'm glad it's over is that everyone seems to feel the need to publish their vote on facebook. Again, not a huge deal, but some people feel the need to be very legalistic about the whole thing. In not so many words they basically tell me that "we can't have THAT kind of person in office, so vote for MY candidate!" 

that REALLY offends me.

If I wasn't sure who to vote for, I'd consult a close friend, call my dad or mom maybe, but I wouldn't just throw it out there and say "what's everyone on facebook saying?" that's the worst idea I've ever heard. It reminds me of an argument I heard last election, that if you aren't going to educate yourself on the election then to not participate in it. Now I know I blogged that whole "non-voting as an act of violence" thing, but there's some truth here too. Waving a pen and just "shooting in the dark" as it were is also not a good idea, and could be maybe not an act of violence, but for sure a stupid mistake waiting to happen.

And I hope that everyone realizes that WE ARE STILL RESPONSIBLE FOR THE THINGS THAT HAPPEN IN AMERICA!!!! People get so defensive about their respective candidate, but here's the reality: whoever becomes the next president, things aren't going to change that much. they just aren't. regardless of who takes over, there will be public opinion and politicians who whine and complain, etc, etc, ETC!!!!! and things won't get accomplished. The real question is which person do you want to cast the vision to the U.S. and the world? Because the Republicans and Democrats work for each other, and they'll fight each other all the way, all the time. Things won't get done. And we can't assume a change in the person sitting in the oval office is going to revolutionize anything. It's still up to us. We still HAVE to be involved in the process. 

My cynical prediction is that the people will step back and disengage after the election, and expect all their problems to get solved. And then when it doesn't work, they'll wonder why. Our consumeristic nature will even ruin the next presidency. We'll ask for the loser to take over for the winner once things hit a snag, because we don't stick it out in tough times, we look for the quick fix. We get the medicine that works fastest, or we scrap the idea and get the new one. It's like iPods. It's easier to toss an iPod and replace it than to fix it. And I think that's what we'll do. We'll continue to spend more than we can afford, and people will wonder why things haven't changed.

WE HAVE TO BE THE CHANGE. WE HAVE TO BE THE CONSISTENCY. WE HAVE TO BE THE LEVEL HEADED ONES. We can't just push that off on a politician and run off and be stupid and expect things to turn out good.

Jesus, save us from ourselves and our ignorance.