2012 Presidential Election

After experiencing and participating in my second Presidential election I admit that I am walking away with mixed emotions.  Let me explain some of the feelings I have/had considering this election (and elections in general) and observations that are most definitely not unbiased.

To begin, I don't politically identify with either of the two parties but I consider myself socially progressive and economically conservative.  It is not easy for me to vote for either party because I don't believe either party represents my values and beliefs completely.  While I am definitely not alone in this category (from reading around news websites etc. roughly 1/3 of the registered population in this country identify as independent) I confess that  I sometimes feel my vote is either wasted or a non-issue because I feel like I always (politically) make a compromise.  Governor Romney did not represent my social beliefs and President Obama's handling of the economy (in my opinion) could of been much better.

As I watched the results of the election come in and I read the statements made by my friends and peers on social media websites I was shocked to read the vitriol that people posted, ranging from "If Obama gets re-elected I'm leaving the country" to "Fuck Romney" and "Thank god Romney did not win".  Granted, everyone has an opinion and our amazingly "problematic" first amendment grants us the right to say, in most cases, what we want, but do we need to regress in age and maturity every time "our guy/girl" wins or looses?  I don't think so.

President/President Elect Barack Obama has certainly been a solid "centrist" president (my opinion) and has helped push through legislation that I do think is integral to our countries' progression into the future, such as his health care bill (a work in progress) and his dealings with most foreign powers.  President Obama won re-election by appealing to the natural heterogeneous nature of the American public and successfully campaigned for another term to finish the important work that he started four years ago.

I believe that Governor Romney lost the election because both he and the Republican Party have done a terrible job of reaching out to and thinking about citizens other than white males, including Latinos, Blacks, and Asian-Americans, to name a few.  Add to this shocking omission of groups of our diverse population the Republican parties almost archaic views on social issues, such as abortion and gay marriage (no public funds for abortion in my opinion), and you have a recipe for future election losses and further alienation with potential conservative voters who will literally vote Democratic out of spite or distaste.

I do hope and wish the best of luck to President Obama because his success is our success and vice-versa.  While I don't have to agree with everything he does politically, I do believe that whomever the President is (Bush included) we owe it to him/her to stand behind them and at least for the moment believe that they and the government they create have the best interests of the people in mind.  I cling to the hope of seeing our country become less partisan and more centrist.  However, seeing my generation make the same mistakes as those before us (badmouthing the other side, slandering public officials, and distancing ourselves from one another because of our political beliefs) does not sit well with me and causes me great concern.

Like the country we live in, we are not perfect.  We all have different religious, political, and social beliefs that adds to our national character, but instead of appreciating each other for the differences that make us unique, we sometimes use these as wedges between the potential union of our beliefs.  While I myself am not innocent in this political nay-saying I do set it upon myself to not judge people (to the best of my human ability) based solely on their political beliefs.  After all, if our country is so diverse, how do we ever expect each other to think exactly alike?  This type of linear thinking will never happen.  The beauty, however, is that we don't have to think alike, but we better (collectively) figure out some way to live with our diverse sets of interpretations of the world before we let our politics take absolute control of ourselves.  And when that happens, it truly will be a situation that will be lamentable indeed.