I'm going to get right to the point. This election has definitely brought out the WORST in a lot of people. People who used to be peaceful and confident in who they were and in their decisions have now resorted to lamblasting not only the opposing candidate, but even others who happen to support that candidate! I get the feeling that most people may not see what the big deal is. I think this is because 95% of the people that most of us interact with tend to share the same opinions and values. I am one of those rare people who has TONS of friends throughout the entire spectrum. Not just acquaintances that I see at work or every now and then; I'm talking loved ones all across the board. And what I am seeing is not good at all.
Let me start by giving you a little background about me. I grew up in a staunchly Democratic household. The ONLY mention at all of the "the other" party was in a very negative, accusatory way. Maybe there was just cause for this at some point, I'm not exactly sure. This can probably be said of 90% of youngsters entering college, but as a young adult leaving home for the first time, I went out into the world with an extremely narrow viewpoint on life. Things were a certain way, and if you didn't agree with me you were either uninformed or, simply put, a racist. College social interactions were fairly easy; I mostly hungout with other people who looked, thought, and behaved exactly like me. This being the case, I did get teased a lot for my growing appetite for alternative music in the mid-nineties. But this was done only in good, harmless fun. :-) As time moved forward, I began taking internships with large firms, and being in very close proximity with others of varying backgrounds, political affiliations, and social status. My little safe, narrow-minded opinions no longer went unchallenged. I needed to know
why I felt the way that I did. I'll say it again:
WHY. (Yes, I was clearly channeling Joe Biden just then) :-)
The whole "if you don't feel the way that I feel, then you must be racist" viewpoint slowly died away, as I became more educated about how the world and the way people in it really operate. I regularly got the opportunity to hear viewpoints of people of all walks of life. I took the time to mull things over that I would hear and experience, instead of just reacting all of the time. I was able to determine how those viewpoints fit into my outlook on life. By the time my husband and I were married and chose our church home, my old way of thinking had been replaced with a fresh, new, independent thought process. I became a lot more calm and thoughtful while dealing with other people. I began to listen more than I talked. I began to use my brain more than my emotions, espeically when it came to politics. Every single thing wasn't about me and my feelings anymore. I became an open book with fresh clean pages ready to listen and learn and to be filled with knowledge.
Fast forward 9 years later. Election 2008. We've got a Black man running for president. We've got a woman running for the vice-president spot. And we've got a whole bunch of hatred spewing all over the place from both sides. I am subject to hearing it all day long. If I say anything in support of McCain/Palin (especially Palin) around certain loved ones, an unnecessary debate ensues. Bare in mind that I'm not saying anything negative about anyone, I'm just speaking in support of something a candidate said or did. And if I say anything positive about Barack or Michelle Obama in the presence of certain loved ones, I sometimes get nasty, sideways glances that I don't even want to try and interpret. I didn't even say that I was voting for the man. I only said that Michelle Obama can dress her butt off!! Why the nasty looks? And don't even get me started on Facebook.
Actually, I will talk about Facebook. This is the best example of how frustrating this election has been for me socially. One of the highlights of my day is checking my Facebook newsfeed to find out how my friends are doing. I love leaving little happy notes for people who are having a bad day, and sharing in the happiness of those who happen to be having a remarkable day. I love finding pictures of people and their children that I haven't seen in ages! That is precisely what I use Facebook for...to stay connected in love with people that I care about. Well, people have managed to turn Facebook into a cesspool of hatred. Status updates which were used for staying connected with loved ones are now being used to nastily criticize "the other guy" (or mostly gal, in this case). Right now, when I look at my Facebook news feed, 60% of what I see is negativity. Anger. Resentment. It caused me to make a decision that I really feel bad about, but still feel was highly necessary. Here's what happened:
You see, I went to the Women of Faith conference last weekend, and when I returned I was on a spiritual high; I still feel transformed from that day! I left all of the fear, doubt, anger, basically anything negative upon the altar of God as He commands us to do in His word. The following Monday, when I opened my Facebook news feed to check up on my pals and comment with encouragement where needed, and excitement in other cases, I was VERY frustrated and dissappointed to see mostly loads of negative comments. My spirit was immediately affected by this. The saddest thing to me was that the worst comments were coming from people that actually proclaim to be above this general type of behavior...in fact, they are in a position of "leading the flock", if you will. I'm sure you've seen this type on Facebook. They constantly attempt to lure people into debates with them by creating status messages in the form of "questions". These questions are always under the guise of "food for thought". If you're daft enough to respond then you, my friend, are in the midst of a debate where this other person now has the opportunity to jump up on a soapbox and make their opinions known to everyone.
Well, needless to say, when I was perusing my Facebook news feed last week after a moment of prayer and my first morning cup o' joe, I wasn't prepared to see the word "dumb" in all caps used to describe one of the candidates. I realized I at this point that I had to take extreme measures. Again, supporting someone that you want to vote for is one thing, but ridiculing someone in a public forum is intolerable to me...that's just how I feel. I refuse to allow this type of negativity in my life on a regular basis; I will not let my spirit be comprimised by it. Hearing opposing viewpoints is one thing, but nasty critique and judgment is unacceptable. So I decided to utilize Facebook's "less-than" feature. But unfortunately the most negative people tend to update their Facebook statuses on whims several times per day. So these people were essentially hijacking my news feed with nastiness; 'less-of' them still meant
more than most of my other friends. So I had to go a step further and utilize the Facbook 'Block' feature. Do you know that my news feed is already 60 - 70% more positive just by doing that?! I felt bad about having to 'block' people that I love on Facebook, but I have to set my own boundaries. I know what causes me to operate at my best and most positive, and I had to do what I had to do. This doesn't mean that I don't want to interact with these people; it just means that we didn't have a very positive connection via Facebook so there was no love lost by blocking them via this medium.
This is an example of what I mean about seeing the worst in people during this election. Even during Election 2000 when people were screaming RACISM, DISENFRANCHISEMENT, etc...it still wasn't THIS bad. We've got a black man with very little experience, and a beautiful woman with very little experience both running for the most powerful positions on earth, and people are losing their friggin' minds. Let us continue to pray for this country, its leaders, and one another. PLEASE don't forget to pray for our fellow man in addition to ourselves. We all stand in the need of much prayer...the country is more divided than I have ever seen it. Let's please focus on support and not criticism. United we stand, and divided we fall. That's the way it is, and always has been.
Labels: Barack Obama, Joe Biden, John McCain, presidential election, Sarah Palin
Whether it was the introduction to these movies and the emotional, mental, and hence physical (from an adrenal standpoint) reaction at the age of 16 (when hormones are just starting to settle down), or if it had more to do with the fact that I had my best friends over to share this great time with me, I believe that my love of horror/suspense movies was born that weekend. I don't even celebrate Halloween as an actual holiday at all. But I always get caught up in the movie (and candy) aspect of it. So beginning today, every Friday and Saturday evening this month I will choose one of my favorite suspense films to watch (and maybe throw in one I've never seen). That should total 9 movies for the month of October. Since I missed yesterday I will try to watch two this evening. 
