I've talked to many, many people about the upcoming election in the past few weeks and I've heard many, many stories. We spend a fair bit of time writing about politics on this blog and, lets be honest, we spend a lot of time preaching to the choir.
We don't try to hide where we stand, nor do most of our readers. A lot of us are single, dual, or even triple issue voters and we can get a little passionate about the subject. We are bloggers after all; spreading our opinion far and wide from our respective soap boxes comes easily for us.
This post isn't for the bloggers, or most of our readers. This post is for the multitude of people I've talked to; cashiers, service people, other parents, grandparents, and random people met along the way. Almost everyone I've talked to has some things in common, and almost everyone I've talked to has felt absolutely alone.
YOU ARE NOT ALONE
If you are afraid to talk about politics at work, school, home, or in public, you are not alone.
If you recognize how polarized about this election EVERYONE BUT YOU seems to be, you are not alone.
If you refrain from talking about politics because every time you open your undecided or wavering mouth you get pounced on like fresh meat, you are not alone.
If you are afraid to put a bumper sticker on your car or a sign in your yard because you don't want to file the soon-to-be-necessary insurance claim, you are not alone.
If you find yourself on the opposite side of the election from your spouse (and I feel for you, A's dad), you are not alone.
If you thank God (or whoever) for the anonymity of the voting booth because then you can just tell whoever is asking that you are voting for "their" candidate, you are not alone.
If you feel disgusted by the options put before you, you are not alone.
If you'd like to find information on a given candidate but all you find is info delivered with a heavy and obvious bias, you are not alone.
If you've compulsively turned off you tv or radio every time a political ad comes on, you are not alone.
If you've stopped reading the newspaper, news sites, or blogs because you're tired of the pandering or vitriol, you are not alone.
If you think the dictionary definition of politician should be changed to "compulsive liar with a hand on my wallet", you are not alone.
If you've noticed this year's crop of supposed voter initiatives seems to be overrun with wolves in sheep's clothing, you are not alone.
If the voter fraud makes you angry but doesn't surprise you, you are not alone.
If you've fantasized of a political system where we randomly pull a name from the jury duty pool for every public office, you are not alone.
If you then realized they'd still find a way to rig the process, you are not alone.
If you can't seem to choose who to vote for, you are not alone.
If you are undecided because all you want is for a candidate to keep their hands off your life and not change anything, you are not alone.
If you've looked at the third party candidates and realized they're just as bad, you are not alone.
If you've had to resign yourself to voting AGAINST a candidate, you are not alone.
If you are disappointed, despondent, or disillusioned, you are not alone.
From what I've seen, you are in the majority.
Vote your conscience, that is all you can do for now.
Mel
