Every presidential election cycle reminds me of the same political cartoon. It was published during the 2000 or 2004 election and showed a couple in bed, about to turn off the lights. The two candidates were shown crouched by the side of the bed, like eager puppies. One spouse turned to the other and asked "honey, did you remember to let the candidates out?"
I enjoy political cartoons in general but that one has always stuck with me. I even have it in a scrapbook of my favorite cartoons. So, it's election year again and good luck hiding from it. I think I liked elections a lot more before facebook though. By the time I was old enough to vote, I also had a facebook account but facebook was still new and status messages were still limited in length. I'm pretty sure most people posted about the party they had gone to, what they did at the gym, or something about how hard classes were. I remember some pretty good election debates in my freshman dorm room but I never remember anyone being called "stupid" (or anything worse) over their views. No one left angry and no friendships ended over differing political views. You disagreed and then you moved on.
Apparently not so anymore. Want to debate politics on facebook? Cool. I'd rather do it over a table with some wine and snacks but hey, go for it. Let's up the standards though. My opponent isn't "an idiot" because we disagree. Most likely, their priorities are far different than mine. Different experiences have shaped us and that's okay. Often, it makes for a really good discussion too. In fact, I respect the heck out of a facebook friend of mine who publicly went on facebook and apologized for rude language during a facebook debate that, it would appear, deteriorated quickly. The friend and I agree on almost nothing politically but I still can and do respect him.
Back in college, I dated a guy much like the friend I just mentioned- we could not have agreed less on politics, religion, the economy, or anything else if we had tried. Among the things we didn't agree on was how to vote. Thankfully, we both agreed that exercising your right to vote was critical. (Seriously, GO VOTE.) I believed in voting within a two party system though and he believed in voting for the candidate that you had the most faith in, regardless of how obsolete their party. I told him he was throwing away his vote.
A decade later, I find myself unable to vote for either party's presumptive nominee. Who knows, maybe I'll get lucky and we'll end up with a candidate or two that I could consider voting for. It could still happen. Right?
Seriously though. I'm now eating my words from a decade ago. Because I would very much like this to not look like an invitation to debate me on facebook (but let me know if you want to talk over snacks), let's keep this theoretical. The nominating conventions haven't actually passed yet so I guess it still actually is. Theoretically though, I might feel ethically and morally unable to vote for either major party candidate. I've been told I'll be throwing away my vote. Mickey Mouse 2016 anyone?
There are other candidates out there though. And no, I'm not talking about Micky Mouse, Darth Vader, or the tooth fairy. Research them. Maybe if everyone voted for the candidate they believed in most, we would end up with a better outcome in November. I know I'm not the only person looking at the possible choices in despair. Before you choose your favorite fairy tale princess as a write-in vote though, check out the other people. The ones that you, unfortunately, will not see in a major presidential debates but might have real experience and real ideas and could, possibly, really be a better fit for you.
I've you've stuck with this post this long, please stick with it just a little longer. I was really less than enthusiastic about writing this post because I do try to keep my political debates off the internet. A few days ago though a friend posted an inoffensive status about her beliefs. Replies to her post were rude, offensive, and shallow. She replied without lowering herself to the same level. Debate politics on facebook if you want to (again, preferably not with me) but be polite, pretty pretty please.
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