HOLD YOUR BREATH!
Tantrum time?
This is the week-end when some American voters think they can act like idiots in exhibitions of their understanding of false patriotism.
It is curious mix. There are clowns on both sides of the sides of the political fence - all sides, for those less-than- minor groups who do not stand a chance of elect their candidate whatever happens.
Far too many party persons seem to think the campaign rhetoric must continue right up until the the final chad had been done or undone properly or improperly. It's all over when the candidates go to bed for some much-needed shut-eye time. There is little need for you to drag your pet political prejudices into the voting site itself on Election Day. The shallow-headed individual who stations himself or herself just outside the actual physical dimensions of the voting area wrapped in a national flag, as it were, haranguing, or loading them up with more literature designed to make them change their mind at the last moment. A vote that fragile is not worth the trouble it takes to change it.
A voting area is not a combat arena. It is, rather, a place of quite, resolute action in which we set down our choices from among the candidates discussed over the previous weeks, months and even years. It is not to be a place of continued bitterness and criticism. It is not a proper place for the flexing of political muscles. The disagreements should be left behind. We are, often, among the first and loudest to be critical of elections in foreign nations where violence is often a deciding factor at the ballot box. We demean and dishonor them even more so by naming monitors to stand by to see that their election may be said to be honest and above board. It may be time to watch our own conduct.
There is a strange undercurrent abroad this year which has people being fearful of violence at the balloting places.
The campaign is ended. The time of testing is a hand, when we find out how well we have responded in this tradition which is ours enabling us to - peacefully - choose our own leaders and what our future is to be.
A.L.M October 29, 2004 [c402wds]
