Column: The Way I See It
I’m a big fan of looking back. I like to see where I’ve been, what I’ve been through, how I handled it, what I learned from it and how it’s affecting me now.
I was just realizing what I was doing this time last year. It was the 2004 presidential election featuring John Kerry and George W. Bush. The stereotypes flew: uneducated Southerner versus pompous New Englander; subservient wifey Laura versus gold-digging trophy Theresa. Which was better: Vietnam vet status or service in the National Guard?
The name calling didn’t stay confined to the candidates themselves. The abuse stretched down to the regular Joe and Jane American. Tell me if any of this isn’t familiar:
Democrat: “If I had half a mind, I’d be a Republican.”
Republican: “So, what do you do with your non-existent mind?”
Democrat: “Ignorant, flag-waving hayseed!”
Republican: “Hypocritical, power-hungry Communist!”
You pretty much had to be hiding under a rock to miss any of it.
I admit I descended to the low blows of those who were trying to save our country. My intentions were good in the beginning, but you can’t throw mud without having to wash your hands afterwards – or so Grandma used to say. I got into heated debates with others just as hard-headed as myself, which meant these arguments concluded with “fine, you have your opinion, but it’s still wrong, wrong, WRONG!”
Now it’s been about a year. Threats by the staunch leftists to move to Canada and offerings from the right to help them pack have come and gone. The election has been tallied and we’ve known who our president is since last November. But the hurt and anger caused during the campaign remains.
If you are anything like me, you have to feel pretty silly. I wasn’t just throwing mud; I was down rolling around in the grimy muck. Now, though, I can’t help but feel like I needed a long, hot, soapy bath.
There’s a fine line between being informed about the issues and getting being plain mean about the whole thing.
Of course, you should do your research about the issues and inform others if you feel the need to do so. But that doesn’t mean that you have to turn it into a playground fight where every “booger head” deserves a “peanut brain.”
Compared to the bigger picture, it seems dumb to be fighting over whether you come from a blue state or a red state or that the majority of people in your state
are conformist morons (as an aside: you don’t know that they’re all conformist morons, but that’s another column altogether.)
There will still be those that like to debate and they’re probably good at it. But, with election time coming up, don’t forget what debates are for. Debates are a forum to present the issues and let the people decide. It isn’t a place to say that you shouldn’t vote for Bob Candidate because his mother’s ugly and she dresses him funny.
On Nov. 8, get out and vote. Be informed and support the issues that you want to support. Let’s not let the childishness of the 2004 campaign carry over to 2005. I’m still trying to get the dirt out from under my fingernails.
Chrissy Johnson is a junior majoring in English.
She can be contacted at
desertrose1785@yahoo.com.