What will the country look like now?

The elections are over but the rhetoric continues. I saw a blog posted on Facebook today which was an incredible reality check to the election. A reminder of the fact that one of the things that makes this country great is our ability to change things  every four years if we don't like the way things are going (every two years if you count the mid-term elections).

 

And then I read the comments at the end of her blog (over 400, I would kill for that). They started with things like "thank you" and "well said" and then they started to degenerate. At first some differences of opinion, then name calling, then more differences of opinion. People really missed the point. After I got over the fact that so many people really do not know their American history, or what is actually written in the Constitution I was saddened.

 

How difficult is it to say "I respect your opinion, but I disagree." Why do we have to make each other feel bad for our political beliefs, our religious beliefs, our lack of religious beliefs, our gender, our race, our nationality, our sexuality .... there is always something. Life would be very boring if we were all exactly the same.

 

The reality is that if we want to continue to live in a democracy we are going to have to make compromises. We are not always going to be happy with the results. We are not always going to get our own way. We are not always going to like the people or the party in office - but we have to remember that the majority of the people in the country do (or the majority of the electoral college if you are Al Gore). So take a breath and do the best you can with the options that lay before you.

 

More and more I am realizing that the problems in this country have very little to do with who sits in the White House. The problems have to do with our "my way or the highway" attitudes. The lack of respect we have for our fellow human beings. Our lack of consideration for the people around us. It is evident from the way we drive, to the way we comment on someones Facebook page or the way we judge people we know nothing about based on "appearances."

 

I was happy with the result of the 2012 elections. While all the candidates I voted for will be starting their jobs in January, not everything I voted for passed. And that is ok. I have said it before and I will say it again ... this is what democracy looks like.

 

So thank you Jo Ashline for your blog. While the comments were disheartening, the sentiments we spot on! So what will the country look like now that the election is over? I don't know, but if I don't like it that is ok, in a couple of years we can try again.