It's election eve--way scarier than All Hallows in my book. This time tomorrow, God willing, the political commercials & soundbites will be over, Sarah Palin's Neiman-Marcus wardrobe will be up on eBay (yeah, like THAT'S gonna happen) & the political signs littering the landscape will be pulled up, probably by teen vandals on community service.
Whatever happens at the polls--& in the ensuing court battles--I'm worried that we're just not going to get over the polarity this campaign engendered. More so than any election I can remember, there's been a level of incivility & unwillingness to even listen to anyone supporting "those" candidates ("those" being whichever side isn't yours).
Throughout the past couple of months, friends have been sending me NY Times articles, YouTube links, analyses, diatribes, exposés, cartoons--all anti McCain-Palin. I'm not saying they don't make pretty easy targets, but as I've told more than one of my friends: this stuff is being circulated amongst Obama supporters; of course we're going to eat it up.
But, while infuriating or amusing (or sometimes just lame), I didn't need these materials to influence my choice. & I suspect that neither did the other people on the distribution list.
Moreover, if any McCainite did receive any of these emails, I'm betting that if s/he read through the first graf the offending email got deleted right sharpish.
Here's the thing--at no point in this final campaign did I receive anything from an acquaintance that attempted to show the 'Pubs in a positive light, or Dems in a negative one. (I know it's out there because I've sought out some of the latter myself just to see what was out there, although I can't bring myself to go to a Murdoch-owned site--I do have some limits.)
My point (&, unlike Peggy Noonan, I can actually come to one) is this: we don't seem to be able to talk with one another, unless "we" have already passed some sort of litmus test. & I'm not seeing any kind of willingness to cross this divide, at least not so far.
(I'm also frankly scared by the Klan-like outbursts at McCain's & Palin's rallies & appalled that the candidates haven't told these louts that this kind of thing is unacceptable in the society that the Founding Fathers envisioned. These people have guns--what happens when their candidate doesn't make it to the White House?)
& I'm wondering whether, after tomorrow, we can find a way to put all this vitriol behind us & get on with the business of dragging our sorry economy's arse out of the tank, bring an honorable end to the wars we've been fighting for more than five years & restore our prestige in the eyes of the nations.
Speaking as someone who ALWAYS claps for Tinkerbell I have to say that I wish I thought we could, but I'm having a hard time envisioning it.
Meanwhile, get out there & vote, because decisions are made by those who show up.
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