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.

Three things that irritate me about people ......

I was going to wait until tomorrow to start my 30 day blog, but I have been reading comments on many news blogs today so this question seems really appropriate!

1. I hate stupid people. I am not talking about people with learning disabilities, or people who didn't go to college (some of the smartest people I know didn't go to college). I mean people that are just stupid! People who spout opinions based on the headlines of articles they never read. People who, when they realize they are losing an argument, resort to name calling (instead of saying "wow, maybe you have a point"). People who think that the world revolves around them. People who text & drive. I think you get the point.
2. People who think their way of life is the only way to live. This includes people who think it is okay to dictate my morality based on their beliefs. Or people who try and tell me how to parent (while I have very strong beliefs on parenting, how you raise your children is your business). People who try and tell other people who they should marry. People who tell me how I should practice my faith. Again, I think I have made my point.
3. People who have not respect for others, or for themselves. This can be a pretty big category .... racism, classism, homophobia. But it also includes corporations that pollute the earth and don't think twice about it, or fire people because the billion dollar profit they made wasn't enough. Or politicians who think that getting reelected is a good enough reason to allow the few to rule the many (just the thing the Constitution was written to avoid). People who don't say thank you when you purchase something in their store. And young girls that think so little of themselves that they think they need to dress like a porn star at the age of 15 (while this is society's fault as a whole, and parents' fault for allowing it, these young girls turn into the young women I teach who come to class with their butt cheeks hanging out, or the young women strutting their breasts all over the Internet thinking that this really validates their worth .... while it irritates me, this one really makes me sad). People who cut you off in traffic and then flip you the bird, or block the intersection so when your light turns green you can't go.

Wow - you would think I would be irritated all the time. But I'm not. Most of the time I just shake my head and move on. Or voice my opinion to the situation and walk away. Maybe that is why I started this blog - to voice my frustration over how self-centered, greedy and disrespectful our society has become.

The good news is that with all the negativity in society - those of us who do not subscribe to it stand out! It makes us easier to find each other and creates a ray of sunlight to brighten people's day. And maybe, just maybe, like that Liberty Mutual Insurance Commercial we will rub off on people and the world will be less irritating!