Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Coming up for air...

I feel as if I've abandoned this blog, for all the posting I've been doing lately.

And a bit of it is Twitter, but it is mostly life. I don't know how to talk about politics with out passion and I don't think this is the place for it. I don't know how yet to talk about being a woman on the verge of 37, with hopes and dreams, some dashed. I don't know yet how to talk about the realization that I in some ways lost ten years (from 17 to 27) acting my way through undiagnosed bipolar disorder.

But I did want to say hello, dear reader.

I'm listening to Home by Marilynne Robinson, and I'm on the last disc. I've been weeping. But it keeps me from hearing the political ads, the ones that cut your soul. I'll be getting a new book to listen to today.

So I won't talk about the fact that I read the New York Times almost daily online, and that I've watched every debate. But I will tell you this: as you decide who you're voting for, pray for this nation. Because there is always the chance that the man you want to win won't. And you will need to accept that, and the nation will.

And watch the men themselves. Read as many interviews with them. What did they call it in history? Primary sources. Watch the debates, if you can. If you must watch the news, watch Jon Stewart, he makes fun of everyone. Do not trust campaign ads. Do not trust websites that are cropping up everywhere to say, "My guy is the guy." Go to the source. Go to the source. I will say it again, GO TO THE SOURCE. Passionate people that want their candidate to win will stop at nothing. If you've been paying attention, you know what I mean.

Go beyond the "one issue" vote. Please do that for me. I could go on, but for our sake I won't. If that's your thing, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

Look at the whole of the man. Is this a man that I will trust to talk to foreign dignitaries? Growing up in the government, growing up in the Foreign Service, I did actually meet a few presidents, if by meet you mean shake hands. And so I think about the man. Is this a man I would want to shake hands with? Is this a man my father would respect? (I respect my father greatly, readers of this blog will know that, but who knows how you got to this post.) I have been talking to my father almost daily, and we have been forwarding articles back and forth. My father knows a great deal about how politics works and he knows the history behind some of the things that the political ads are blasting, either for the right or the left.

Trust yourself, but talk to everyone you know that will talk to you (as you know, folks shut their mouths about politics REAL quick). Talk to the people you disagree with, if you can. Or at least have conversations with them in your mind. And don't worry about disappointing people. You will be the one responsible for your one vote. Even if you are in a state that's sure to go red or sure to go blue, vote! It's not fun, and you will probably have to wait in line. But it's a duty and a right. Don't let anyone steal that from you.

And if you are a pray-er, pray. Because whoever wins on Nov. 4, there will also be a loser. Pray that our nation will not become divided and bitter. And pray for the safety of everyone. One of the things I love the most about the Catholic and Episcopal church's prayers is that they call our president by his given name, George. As if he were the boy around the corner.

3 comments:

Katrina said...

Great post, SL! I, too, have been dodging a lot of the political ads designed to indoctrinate instead of educate. Your point about going to the source is well-taken. It used to be that we could trust journalists to do that for us, but it seems those days are gone and we have to become our own detectives.

I've been talking to my kids about the election, my oldest especially, who is starting to understand what's going on. She knows who I want to win, but I've been careful to emphasize that no matter who wins the election, we need to pray for the new President and show respect for his office, even if we disapprove of or speak out against his choices. I think that's something we, as a country, have forgotten how to do.

Love for our fellow man sure seems thin on the ground during an election season!

Sarah Louise said...

Thanks Katrina! There's so much talk about "reaching across the aisle" and don't we do it every day in our lives if we have a diverse group of friends?

Growing up, my dad's boss' boss' boss was the President, and so we were taught to honor the office, even if we disagreed with the man.

My grandparents disagreed on who they voted for and so my mother always says, "I don't have to tell you who I voted for."

Yes, let's have some love for our common man/woman, even if s/he is voting for "the other side."

Holly said...

They pray for George? Oh, I do like that. I like this whole post, actually.

Hello, dear blogger!