Not looking forward to the presidential election

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I am not looking forward to the upcoming election. In particular, the race for president is shaping up to be one of the nastiest, most divisive contests possibly ever.

It seems to me that the days of actual adults talking about actual issues in a mature manner are done, over, kaput.

No, I fear that there will be name calling, a cascade of lies and misinformation, whining, eye rolling and general behavior that would make the parents of a toddler blush.

I, for one, am no fan of the current state of politics – especially the constant put downs. As I mentioned, the name calling is childish beyond belief, and we sadly have a president who does it frequently. But I am sure he won’t be alone as the campaign kicks into high gear.

There are currently more than 20 people running for the Democratic nomination. That is a very large number, and could possibly grow. The dude from the convenience store could hop in at any minute. Hell, he would have as good a chance as a few of those already in the race.

A wave of wishful thinking has taken over the party, apparently.

Now, we know that that huge number will begin to shrink once it gets down to the actual voting. Many will drop off well before that because they won’t be able to raise the money to stay in the race. Money, sadly, is what elections are all about these days.

The ones who are left will most assuredly be sniping at each other like an old married couple in a buffet line at a local casino.

This is a pretty diverse group of Democratic candidates this election cycle – older, younger, men, women, straight, gay. But I would bet that being generally unpleasant to their foes will be one thing they have in common. It will prepare them for the general election, which will be a bloodbath of personal insults and attacks.

I find the whole thing repulsive. I don’t care what your politics are, but we need a leader of this country who can rise above. A person who doesn’t let it get to him or her. All I see in Washington is people belittling and bad mouthing each other.

I am curious how the Democratic nominee will comport themselves in the general election. We know that the president will attack and belittle. We know that because it is what he does. That is not a partisan thing, that is just simply a fact.

So, will the Democrat do the same thing? Will he or she attack as well, until the whole election becomes a screaming match? A name-calling festival of hate? I worry, because political grandstanding and cults of personality seem to be the order of the day.

If that happens, the American people will lose, period. This election should be about issues, and there are many to discuss – health care, the environment, immigration. The list goes on and on.

But if this is just a battle of the personalities, a constant fight to yell louder than the other person, we will lose. And I am not talking about losing an election. I am talking about losing the soul of this nation.

We are on a very bad path right now, and no, we can’t expect our politicians – right or left –  to fix it for us. But we also can’t award those who seek to divide and put down. If we do, we can’t blame anyone but ourselves for what we become.