Musings of a Collegiate Caffeine Addict

I might be packing my bags to escape the inevitable collapse.

Come to Canada! We don't feel strongly about anything here.

Oddly enough, the only actual hate I've seen not on the internet has been from alarmingly uninformed or misinformed kids at school (both left- and right-leaning). On the internet, the situation is similar.

I didn't like Mitt Romney. I found him to be arrogant and out-of-touch with my needs and the needs of my family, and I disagreed with a lot of his positions, particularly on social issues (though he and I did agree on several economic issues). Ultimately, after doing research and assessing both candidates' positions (which wasn't easy with Romney since he switched positions a lot), I decided that I agreed with Obama and approved of how he'd been running the country thus far. Had I been 18, I would have voted for him. I don't hate Mitt Romney, though, because I think he was doing what he felt was right, and I can't fault him for that.

What I'm getting at is if we want to decrease the amount of partisan hatred surrounding elections, we need to move out of a partisan mindset. Educate ourselves on the candidates, and then make a decision.

Unfortunately, that doesn't seem like it'll happen anytime soon.

Jabber, that's exactly what I'm looking for.

I thought differently than you (as you know) but I respect the conclusion you came to. And handling winning and losing with grace and class (like, you know the actual candidates did...) is the key to this whole thing. That's how we move forward and make progress towards repairing the country.

Similarly, my mother's best friend voted for Romney, and they're still best friends.

I don't really give a crap who you vote for as long as you inform yourself and actually vote. That's the beauty of democracy, after all.

As a Gary Johnson voter, I feel your 'paign.

Obama's pretty conservative for a democrat he planned to cut taxes on the middle class IIRC so I would not worry. Also it was no different in the days of the founding fathers or anytime time between.

Originally Posted by Wyvernphlare

Obama's pretty conservative for a democrat he planned to cut taxes on the middle class IIRC so I would not worry. Also it was no different in the days of the founding fathers or anytime time between.

Mudslinging campaigns really only started in the US in force during the 1828 election with the "coffin handbills," but since then it's been a fixture of American campaigning, however regrettable that is.

Originally Posted by Wyvernphlare

Obama's pretty conservative for a democrat he planned to cut taxes on the middle class IIRC so I would not worry. Also it was no different in the days of the founding fathers or anytime time between.

I wasn't talking about Obama's policies at all (i thought I had made that clear) or him in comparison to Romney.

My disgust was not with the Obama re-election, but with people's reactions. And considering the fact that America is at its most bipartisan since the Civil War, we need to take a long look in the mirror and come together as a unified nation.

And if that happens under the Obama presidency, I will be the first person to tip my cap to the President and admit I was wrong. And I hope that happens too.

@Mako;

Mate,I know how you feel. Indian democracy is the same. People here vote because, "he belongs to my religion", "he is a filmstar!!1!", "he belongs to my caste", "he promises free laptops and booze!!" etc.

The survival of the United States was and is at stake. We can compromise, but Obama will have to give on certain things. his "I won the election" attitude in his first term is why so many Republicans were turned off by him and refused to go along with anything. When he then blamed Republicans, the partisanship spread. Then he turned to executive order after 2010, making things even worse. If Obama will not compromise and keep a party line, why should Conservatives? A raw deal is a raw deal.