Post-election thoughts

It's been a while since I wrote a political entry. I generally try to avoid politics now, having grown increasingly weary of the pointless partisan mudslinging that has dominated the airwaves since September 11th. In light of the Tuesday election, however, I feel a need to voice why I'm hopeful that America can now make progress, and also voice my concerns about continuing with the abhorred status quo.

I have voted in every election since I reached the legal age to do so. I attempt to make an effort to educate myself on candidates and vote accordingly. I accept that my beliefs and convictions should be under constant self challenge. Am I right to believe in XYZ? Where am I being pigheaded? Where can I learn from the other side of the political spectrum? Such challenges have resulted in my never voting entirely to a single party ticket. I don't ever expect to do so, and quite honestly hope that in years to come, my vote becomes split as evenly as possible. I want to evaluate each race individually. While my personal political leanings re generally liberal, I try as much as possible to keep moderation the forefront of my viewpoint on politics. Party loyalty is nothing. Personal ethics and honesty are everything. I am just as apt to vote against a Democratic party candidate as I am to vote against a Republican candidate. Incumbents need to demonstrate why they should keep their positions. Give me a reason to vote for you, not just vote for the lesser of two evils.

For the Democratic party, this is not a time to gloat, to foolishly declare they have a mandate, or to start demonizing the "other side" as being anti-American. Over the past six years, our government has done just that, and exactly what has it produced? A fracture of America where the two sides have traded an ever growing onslaught of loaded barbs, never bothering to stop and look around to see what is happening to our great nation.

The vote on Tuesday was not a party vote. It was America finally screaming "enough." Both sides fo the aisle need to put aside the bickering and get back to work, finding common ground or at least a ground that is a compromise for both sides. We have serious national issues that require discussion and debate, followed by action: the exploding, crippling cost of healthcare, the failures (and needed revisements) of No Child Left Behind, the lack of a minimum wage that accurately reflects the cost of living, the horrendous Eminent Domain ruling... just to name a few. In addition, our foreign policy needs drastic repair- Iraq is the forefront issue, but we have to find a way to repair our relationships with other nations and start proving that America is a great nation, not just a large bully.

Correction and repair takes longer than destruction. It's unrealistic to think that everything will be fixed within two years. But in two years, America needs the government to truly start working together and making corrections. The system of checks and balances must be restored. Progress must be made. Otherwise, as American voters, we will vote the incumbents out again and send the message again- start working, or you will lose your position. And that goes for Democrats as well as Republicans.