Best election advice ever. This paragraph is particularly important:
I’m not an Obama fan, particularly, but a lot of people I like and respect are. To treat Obama as something evil or subhuman would not only be disrespectful toward Obama, but toward them. Instead, I hope that if Obama is elected, their assessment of his strengths will turn out to be right, and mine will turn out to be wrong. Likewise, those who don’t like John McCain or Sarah Palin might reflect that by treating Palin and McCain as obviously evil and stupid, they’re disrespecting tens of millions of their fellow Americans who feel otherwise.
That’s truth right there. One reason I (mostly) stay away from political posts is the disrespect – the assumption that those who disagree are total dupes or willingly participating in evil.
For example, the assumption that if I like Palin, I must be deceived or as evil as she is. I can live with disagreement about whether she’s qualified or has the right opinions, but the venom that has come from some indicates they despise anyone who would dare think she might be kinda okay.
Frankly, I’ve come to be rather disappointed with several suppossedly smart and sophisticated bloggers at Times & Seasons and elsewhere. However, this seems to be the nature of elections. We all apparently turn into bitter partisan hacks around this time, surrending our critical capacities to partisan pundits, lying to ourselves that we think freely and have independtly come to rational conclusions.
Hopefully, once it’s over we can all regain a measure of sanity. So, to repeat: Whoever Wins, Chill a Bit.
[UPDATE: based on a comment below, and some reflection brought on by it – have removed an offhand comment I made and moved it to the sidebar instead].