Be Kind, Be Respectful and Vote Quietly

I have written several political posts in the past- some published but most not. After tossing and turning last night for hours in between Bug getting up and my stomach hurting from a yucky stomach virus going around my house- another one came to me early this morning.

I realized that I really would rather hear about someone’s bowel movements than their political views, especially when opinions are said with such hatred and disrespect. The fact is, between Facebook, Twitter and everywhere else I’m sick of hearing people talk about the election.

Where is the decency? I actually had a Facebook friend say he didn’t know how he could be friends with anyone that voted for the person running against his choice. But that’s just it isn’t it- his choice. People have somehow justified saying nasty, rude things to friends and strangers based on feeling passionate about their presidential choice OR they are being obnoxious posting links to articles on their choice. 

I’m not going to share who I am voting for here because it’s really no one’s business and if I do it would undoubtedly invite criticism. I don’t agree with a lot of both party’s platforms and to be honest I don’t know everything about every issue being discussed, but neither do most other people. While I was agonizing over who to vote for a few months ago, I decided to take a non-partisan political quiz to see what I really believed- without it being told to me by the TV, social media or even friends and family. I wanted to know, based on what I thought and felt about politics, who I should vote for and the result actually shocked me.

I think I realized around 4am why people get so worked up and passionate. They pick one or two issues, wrap their heart around them and then choose to be personally offended when a friend doesn’t have the exact same issues wrapped up in their heart. I have read real anger, real pain and real disbelief on how others could believe something so different.

The fact is, when I vote it’s not to kill babies or against social justice for my homosexual friends, I think every issue is important and to judge someone for what is important to them is not kind. We all have our passions and interests and even if my top 3 issues are not the same as yours that doesn’t make one of us wrong. I know the election is almost over and I just want to plead with people to win gracefully and also to loose with dignity. Don’t retaliate when other gloat and scream, not matter how justified you may be. Be bigger, be better and love others even through their politics and imperfections during this time. Be kind, be respectful and please, just vote quietly.