Politics

I hate politics. I hate the arguing. I hate people having the nerve to tell me how I should vote. I usually feel so overwhelmed by all the issues/policies at stake that I don't even pay attention to what's going on. This year, I made it a point to keep my political opinions to myself. Frankly, it's nobody's business how I am voting and the only thing that really offends me is someone telling me that what I believe is wrong. How dare they? Correct me if I'm wrong, but is it not my RIGHT to choose? Isn't it my RIGHT to form my own opinions? It is ignorant and intolerant to tell another person that their beliefs are wrong. It doesn't matter if it is religious, political or whatever. Nobody has the right to make someone else's choices. That being said, I can't help feeling majorly disappointed in the response to the results of this year's presidential election. It is amazing how quickly we lose sight of the bigger picture. Don't we all have that same right to choose? Isn't it EVERYONE'S right to form their own opinions?

I mentioned to my dad earlier tonight that Election Day is probably the day when I feel the least patriotic. Nothing brings out the ugly in people like a presidential election. The mudslinging leading up to the election is, by itself enough to make me lose faith in the American people. But the reactions I have seen in public make me ten times more disappointed. Happy or not with this year's election, there are a few things that I wish every American would remember:

First, How grateful we should all be to live in a country with the right to choose our leaders. Whether or not we agree with the outcome of an election, shouldn't we still be grateful for that right? Does that change the fact that people who vote differently also have that right? Instead of whining that we didn't get what we want, maybe we should remember that every American chose to vote today. That makes me feel patriotic.

Second, I may be disappointed with certain choices my fellow Americans make, but in no way does that give me or anyone else the right to judge them. I consider myself a Christian. I know. Me and a billion other people, right? I have a point though. By definition, a Christian is a follower of Christ. Didn't Christ Himself say that we ought to "judge not that ye be not judged?" Yes, I understand that many who read this are not Christian. Many of you don't share my beliefs and that is fine. That is your right. I think, however, that the sentiment still stands. It is not my place to be angry or hateful toward anyone else simply because the choices they make are not the same as mine. It is not my place to be angry or hateful toward another person or group of people for voting for a different person than I did. And should that person win, it is not  my place to whine about it. Yes, we have a right to form and express our own opinions however or whatever they may be. But we also need to remember that other people have this right as well. Instead of judging them, we ought to treat them with the respect and tolerance we expect to receive from them.

I wish I had a "third." I actually thought I had a "third." But I guess my brain says it's done.

I know that I don't have very many readers. I know that I am not the world's most exciting blogger. But looking at Facebook after tonight's election, I felt progressively more disappointed as I read my friends' statuses. Not because my candidate lost, but because people for whom I have a great deal of respect chose to use Facebook as a sounding board for their own frustration, completely forgetting what a great privilege it is to be an American, regardless of the outcome of an election in disrespectful, even hurtful ways. I couldn't help wishing that people had more respect and tolerance, especially toward those with whom they disagree. And especially in the face of a turning point in out nation. Respect. Seriously, it's what we need most right now.