Election day is upon us (well, in Japan anyway), and I know I'm not the only one pacing back and forth while biting my nails at the possible outcomes.
It's been quite the remarkable campaign season. I've learned more about my friends' and relatives' political and religious opinions than I ever cared to know. For some, I was pleasantly surprised. For others, I was appalled. I now understand the old adage that family and politics don't mix well (in this case, family/friends and politics).
I look forward to the end of this race. Not only has it added stress to my relationships, but it has greatly shaken my faith - in people, mostly. At the same time though, I think this process has been healthy. It's good to shake things up a bit - to find where people stand, and why they stand there. It's been uplifting seeing apathy change to awareness. It's been inspiring watching people become politically active and trying to educate themselves on the issues and fight for what they think is right. Way to go, America! We did something right!
By the same token, I also look forward to forgetting what everyone's political opinions are. :) And not receiving campaign email forwards like:
"Obama Not Born in the US"
"Surprise Gay Day in California Kindergarten"
"The Church and Prop 8"
"Huntley Brown -- Why I Can't Vote for Obama"
If you want to share your political opinion with me, let's chat. But please don't use my email to send me this nonsense! Trust me, I'll be much more likely to listen if you just talk to me. If it's important enough to you, say it yourself, don't let "forward politics" say it for you. I'll most likely delete it or send it to my junk mail anyway.
Obama has a good chance of winning. I can stop pacing about that. But if Proposition 8 passes, I will be devastated to say the least. Will civil rights triumph over religious bias? Or will dogmatism, fanaticism and injustice run rampant across the nation once again?
Only time will tell.
