Did you hear the latest about Obama???
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He's an intelligent and incredibly charismatic man, but holds political positions different than mine, so I won't be voting for him.
That's it.
The mud-throwing over the past two weeks has hit me where it hurts, so to speak, and rather than continue to join in the low-brow hurling of insults and the over-hyping of silly gaffes and trivial scandals, the Vermin chooses this solemn day to evolve.
Clearly, continuing to fight only continues the fight, and it is in the best interest of all involved (especially my own blood pressure) to rise above and (join with the others who) set the good example, however inconsequential it may be.
My growing urge to 'take a break from TT' seems like the quitter's way out, so instead my new pledge is this:
* To characterize and judge each candidate/ticket solely by their stances on issues, and how they may reasonably be predicted to work with the other branches of government and lead the country, ignoring the snarling of campaign surrogates and the angry bickering that fills so much cable news airtime.
* To refrain from digging up and repeating old, unconfirmed, and frankly irrelevant stories from the past, so that I may best spend my time, say, researching how tax cuts affect tax revenue as opposed to memorizing Tony Rezko's biography.
* To continue to comment on and gently mock the occasional gaffe, but in a lighthearted and noncondemnatory way, i.e. "Biden tried to get a wheelchair-bound guy to stand up! And Obama wasn't even in the building to heal him!" as opposed to "Obama said Palin was a pig so he obviously hates women and wants them in burkas like his terrorist friend Bill Ayers."
* To resist the bait of the mud thrown at my people, except to maybe simply link to a factcheck.org type site that calmly explains/debunks the scandal du jour. Alarmed announcements that Sarah Palin once led a taxpayer-funded book burning under a bridge to nowhere while a State Trooper impregnated her daughter and charged her for a rape kit... will no longer draw my ire and suck me into board-spanning fights.
*** And in 60 days, I pledge to support whoever wins the election as my President. He will inherit an often thankless job presiding over a increasingly rough and uncertain world, and I will not succumb to hating someone I merely disagree with. I will criticize policies and executive actions, but not the man. My undying respect for our highest office certainly extends to whoever holds the office... John or Barack will be elected to this office under the fairest system on the planet, and I will not wallow in resentment and curse the sour grapes of disappointment if the winner is not my personal choice. This poisonous anger all too often circles back around; disapproval of policy leading to loathing of the policy-maker, which then leads to impaired judgment of his future policy. I intend to avoid that emotional self-delusion at all costs.
This WILL be a tough adjustment for me, I have no doubt. But like quitting smoking, I trust that my eventual improved temperment and (in this case, mental) health will soon be noticeable and will serve to reinforce my decision.
I'm not going to self-righteously challenge others to join with me in this pledge. I recognize that many on TT are WAY ahead of me in this area of political maturation. I do invite you to bookmark (or at least remember) this post, and not to hesitate throwing it back in my face if I should relapse.
Thanks for reading this far. I already feel better.
I would have posted this on TT, but my alternate (unrestricted) work internet is on the fritz today. If anyone wants to repost or link to this on TT for me, I would be much appreciative.
Vermin out.
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