Come Together

I have a political blog, RedStateBlues, which I've lost interest in and have allowed to become stale and dormant.  Whatever political comments I've had to make, I've made on Facebook which is lazy blogging.  You make a short statement, attach a photo or link, and a conversation thread ensues.  A blog post takes more time, more thought, more substantiation.  I was also a contributor to two local political blogs that were fairly widely read.  There I found myself under constant attack for every little thing I said. I finally grew weary of trying to have a reasonable discussion with people who only wanted a fight.

So I have kept politics out of my personal blog, here.  It taints things.  This blog is not about politics.  But I want to comment on the present election and the fiercely divided country we have become.  Today is election day and, hopefully, by tonight we will know who our next president will be.  The real challenge begins after that.

The man we elect has to represent people who supported him and people who viciously hate him--about 50/50 each.  He will have to deal with a divided congress.  And Americans will need to find ways of healing the wounds of this election season.  If we don't, that's where the real danger lies.

There are those who are invested in stirring up controversy.  They speak in half-truths, rumors, exaggerations, and outright lies.  We know from recent election cycles, that the rhetoric doesn't die down after the election.  Whoever is our president, he will have that monster dogging his every word, every move.

I have my preference in this race and I'd like to see him win.  But even greater than that, I would like to see some signs of our country uniting after the election.  To see a congress that actually can compromise and get some work done.  To see citizens who can accept differences with friends and family without name-calling or deeming the other to be stupid. 

As this election draws to a close, I wonder if friends and family who have attacked me personally and who have been insulting and intolerant of my views will treat me with renewed respect.  I'm not at all sure whether this election hasn't changed some things forever.