Election Thoughts

Is it me or is everybody else in the United States over this election too?

When this first started, a long time ago and in what seems like a different universe, I was a little excited to see what the candidates would bring.  Now, I just wish that somebody would call a do-over and we could all have a chance to start from the beginning … and do it right this time.

I guess I should start with my own perspective on this.  I’m not happy with the current state of affairs and I’m not particularly unhappy either.  I wish I made more money, I wish I paid less taxes, but I do manage to survive and I feel as safe as any of us can in this day and age.  Of course there are things that I would change, things that I wish for.  However, I’m not delusional enough to think that all of my problems will be solved with the election of either one of the presidential candidates or state representative, etc.   My biggest hope is that we can proceed forward in the best interest of our country as a whole.  I know that no matter what bill is passed, whatever law is changed, whatever decision is made, somebody is going to benefit and somebody is going to lose.  There is nothing in this world that will be the best choice for each and every one of us.  I think most of us adults understand this.  Why, then, has this months-long process turned so ugly?

At this point in the election cycle, I’m so disturbed by every single candidate’s behavior, literature, and rhetoric that I would probably vote for anybody else that I haven’t seen or heard about yet.  I was looking forward to hearing about the choices that we were presented with, what they represented, what they had to say.  Sadly, I did hear it.  I have voted in lots of elections and never before have I been so disheartened.  I have heard some of the candidates’ views, but had to do a LOT of research to find out what I needed to know in order to make a solid decision.  I heard a little more about the topics in the presidential race, but honestly I’m guessing 99% of what I heard from the state level candidates was about the OTHER person.  All of them chose to criticize the other candidate over expressing their own views. I have heard so much negativity this year that it has reached a whole new low.  I have honestly never heard such derogatory things being said by an adult, let alone a presidential candidate, with no repercussions and I can’t believe it has gotten to this point without somebody putting a stop to it.  To hear adults, the potential leaders of our country, say the things that I’ve heard recently is horrible to me.  I’m embarrassed for us as a country.  I’m confused by what we, as the people, are supposed to have learned from them, and I’m finding that, as I try to stay involved and learn more, my mood is becoming more and more depressed about our future.  I’m no longer optimistic about any of the choices or what the future holds for us.  This isn’t how this is supposed to work!  Our candidates are supposed to energize us, inspire us, and instill hope & promise for our future.  What happened?  How did we get to this point?  What can we do about it?

I wish a third-party presidential candidate, one that wasn’t a bully, a liar, or a hypocrite, had popped out of the woodwork a few weeks ago.  We could use one with no baggage or special interest; one that would run a positive campaign.  We probably all would have elected them at this point.  From the state level, I now understand why my state is one of the worst ones to live in anymore and why we’ve had so many politicians put in jail.  I can’t even begin to express how disappointed I am in the amount of literature that I’ve received and how poisonous the tone was.  It’s disturbing to me that we’ve come to accept this as part of political campaigns.

Is it naive to expect the leaders of our communities, our states, and our government offices to be respectful, decent human beings?  Is it wrong to assume that they will behave like adults and the role models that we expect them to be?  We are literally putting our life in their hands.  I don’t think it’s too much to expect that they at least act like they take it seriously.

Author: Deb's Theory

I'm just an ordinary woman getting through life. I think most of us are doing the same--doing the best we can every day and hoping it's enough. By sharing our stories, our thoughts, and common experiences, I'm hoping it will make it all just a little bit easier to BE. View all posts by Deb's Theory