[This was originally posted at my LiveJournal earlier today, but thought I'd share it with the others here. Enjoy!]
These last few years have got to be some of the nastiest mudslinging election seasons I've seen since the early 80s--and in some cases, the most unsettling. Sure, the mudslinging has always been there, as has the not-quite-truths of the claims about each other's opponents. Hell, each time I hear them, I still think of the oft-quoted "He's a chronic masticator/His wife is a thespian" meme.
The only reason it bothers me now is how tasteless it's become. We've gotten to the point where Rush Limbaugh wishes that the President will fail, where elected officials and hopefuls hint at secession and "second amendment remedies", where we now have a not-quite-official and misnamed third party running on the misapprehension that revolution is the only way to go. Sure, it's all words, but words can be both a blessing and a curse. And some of these have already backfired...some violently.
As I've said before, this is surface reaction. It's a knee-jerk reaction to something you don't like. Sometimes it's hard not to get caught up in the conflict; we're an emotional animal, we tend to sense the frustration and the helplessness of others and either join in out of empathy or exploit it out of selfishness. But we're also an evolved animal--we've evolved to the point where we can and should understand the idea of restraint. Or, to put it simply, just because you can doesn't mean you should. Words from your parents when you were growing up, and words to live by. I will admit I've gotten riled up over politics in the last few years for varying reasons, and I've had to practice restraint many a time.
I'm inherently a peaceful guy who feels that civil dialogue always works over chaotic shouting matches. Taking that next-level dialogue almost always creates some kind of progress in one direction or the other, whereas verbal bullying almost always end up in chaos and bedlam. I completely understand that one gets caught up in the moment, becomes emotional because of their love of country, fear of loss of liberties, anger at the direction the country is going in...but again, one must look past the emotions if anything is to be done. Those are reactive emotions, and they can only fuel your ire for so long before it peters out. This can and should be done with dialogue, plain and simple. (And before you start arguing semantics here, I'm still talking political action, not war. War is an inevitability when said dialogue breaks down--gods, I hope and pray it should only be that.) Sure, your pride may get dented in the process, but it's a small price to pay when the outcome could possibly be a lot more important for all involved.
Some people--pundits and talking heads, mostly--have said that this is an elitist way to think about the electoral process and politics in particular. To be honest, I fail to see how in any way this is elitist. To me, elitist means that only those with the financial means can get their say in government and the rest are too stupid or ignorant to know better. That semantics is more important than compassion. That looking out for yourself is more important than looking out for the community.
To me, this recent use of 'elitist' is translating to "oh, you're just taking it all too seriously, lighten up." Well, this isn't just a vote for your high school class president. This is hiring people to serve and protect our country, and to ensure it continues to evolve safely and intelligently.
Think about that for a second--a few thousand men and women at the federal level to be put in charge of over 310 million people, and countless more at the state and local levels. A small percentage being put in charge of taking care of the millions of the rest of us. To me, wanting to learn about these people is not elitist--it's being knowledgeable.
Which is why I pay attention to who these people are.
Which is why I've read up on the Propositions in my state.
Which is why I'm doing my best to ignore or at least disprove the shameless attack ads.
Which is why I want people in office that make the changes, not just complain about it or impede it.
Which is why I'm voting today with the knowledge that I've acquired.
Which is why I don't want to be an American Idiot.