No Matter Who Wins Today

I voted this morning. I expected to have to spend a long time in line, but even though there were long lines at our polling place we did not have to wait long. We were in and out of there in fifteen minutes. Now we just have to wait to hear the results. I'm interested in several of the local races, but of course I am most anxious to see who will be our next President.

This election has been far uglier than I have ever seen before. People have been downright hateful about the candidate that they don't support - and about the people who do support that candidate. There have been cries of racism, sexism, and lots of other "-isms". Some people have been saying that they'll be glad when it's all over tomorrow. I think that's naive. I think there's a good chance that things will get even uglier before they finally get better. The aftermath of the last two elections was prety horrible, and given the hideous lead-up to this one I think it's a safe bet that the aftermath of this one will be even worse. There will be gloating and complaining, and insults will fly. It will be quite a while before people are willing to put all this behind them and unite as one nation again.

I hope that the candidate that I chose to vote for will be our next President, but I realize that he might not be. Regardless of who wins, we will have a new President in January. I may or may not agree with him, I may or may not believe he was a good choice, but I will respect the fact that he holds the highest office in this country. If I don't agree with his politics then I will work harder to see that his opponent is elected in 2012. If he does or says things that I disagree with while he is in office I will feel free to express my opinion about that. I will argue the issues, but I will not insult the person himself. I may not like or respect the person who is elected today, but I have a great repect for the office of President of the United States. I think whoever holds that position deserves to be treated with respect while he is in office. If you hope that he is defeated in the next election, if you disagree vehemently with his politics, even if you want to see him impeached, he still deserves to be treated with the respect that is due the office. Disagree with him all you want, as vocally as you want, but be polite about it.

Tomorrow, if my candidate is not the winner, I will respect the fact that a large part of this country wanted his opponent to be our next President. I will disagree with their choice, but I will still respect it. I may argue the issues with them over then next four years, but I will not insult them personally. I will not insult the man they selected to lead our nation, though I may argue against the choices he makes.

I hope if my candidate is the victor that the supporters of his opponent will show me, and my candidate, the same respect. I hope that they will respect my choice just as I will respect theirs. Regardless of the outcome tonight, I hope that we can unite as one nation in January as our new President is sworn into office.