On This Monday Before Election Day, I'd Just Like to Say...

...AAAAAAAUUUUUUUGHGHGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Shut up!!!! Shutupshutupshutupshutupshutup!!!!!!!!!!!! Stop calling me! Stop sending me emails/sending me flyers/sticking flyers on my door/ inundating the airwaves with CAMPAIGN ADS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I GET IT, OK??!!
WE ALL GET IT!!!!!!

I'm voting. I know how and for whom I'm going to vote. I'll be there bright and early tomorrow morning, I'll punch the holes, or X the boxes, or punch out the chads, or WHATEVER, get my sticker, and wear it proudly.
SO STOP BUGGIN' ME, MAN!

Look, I realize this is politics. I know that A LOT of money has been spent to encourage us to vote one way or another. I realize what is at stake. I also realize that many people are still undecided, and that voter turnout has been notoriously low over the past 15 years or so. (But probably not this year.)

But this election has been going on for nearly 2 years!!!! Most election years are tough (for me), but this has been INSANE!!! I, for one, dispise election ads. I hate the sound-bite coverage. I prefer to try and make up my own mind. I strongly believe that everyone who can vote should vote, and I love that people are passionate about their candidates and their causes. But the inundation that happens at this time is just ANNOYING!!!!!
And our remote is broken, so I don't even have a mute button! WAH!!!

Let me say this: I'm a fairly anxious person (I know, SHOCKING!). I can't watch basketball because I get nervous. I don't watch debates because they make me cringe in fear. For the past few years I've only read novels with happy endings because I can't handle things that don't end well. I'm on anti-anxiety medication, fer cryin' out loud!!!!!!
There are people and issues in this campaign that make me VERY nervous. The more I pay attention to it, the more nervous I get. And this is a very close election. There are no guarantees.
I also can't stand to see people being treated badly. Again, I know it's politics, and these days it's part of the game, but the negative campaigns and character assasinations make me a bit ill. And angry. I hate how each side demonizes the other. Because, despite what the politicians tell us, whether we're liberal, conservative, independent, libertarian, green party, or whatever, we are none of us EVIL. We're all just trying to get along.

At times like this I have to remind myself of what we do in tough times. After Katrina, it was the regular folk who volunteered, who got there first, who handed out the much-needed water and food. Same with this hurricane season. And no one was at the door asking the volunteers whether they were voting for Obama or McCain, and turning them away if they gave the "wrong" answer.

I guess I'm lucky. I'll come right out and say that I'm pretty liberal. But many of my family members are quite conservative. And we not only love each other, we like and respect each other. I grew up with friends from all over the political and religious spectrum, and they taught me that love trumps pretty much everything, even politics. It's the people in my life who hold some different beliefs who remind me that we are all human, and we all deserve respect.

I think that one of the (many) truly great things about this country is our diversity, along with our freedom to express ourselves. Sometimes I have to remind myself that embracing the unknown, the unfamiliar, or that which is different, while scary, is so worth it. I would have missed out on some amazing relationships if I'd let politics get in the way.

Wow. I'd originally meant this to be a light, humorous post. Hmm. Oh well!