Just a little update here. Campaign season is upon us. For me, one of the most dreaded times. I used to hate Christmas ads and Valentine engagement ads but for me, campaign ads take things up a whole different level. I can avoid lots of the seasonal ads by not watching regular television. The political ads are much harder because I have Facebook. So many people fill their feed with stuff that is more or less an ad. Plus..there are ads on Facebook…and just the other day, I saw one on Instagram too.
I’m sure by the time the election is over, I’ll have deleted MANY things from my Facebook feed. Thank heavens there is that option.
Worse…I came to my own blog today and saw an ad. AHHH!! I hate it but most ads I have very little control over so I’m apologizing in advance for any ads that might show up here. If I can check a box that says no political ads, I always do.
I want to say a couple more things…I’m not going to discuss candidates. I’m not really going to discuss political parties.  I want to say something about people not getting along.
I hate “elitist” thinking:
All Democrats do not think one way…
All Republicans do not think the other way.
Every democrat is not for abortion. Every republican is not pro-choice. Every democrat is not for subsidy spending. Every republican is not against it.
I hate when people say, “All dems…..”. Really? All dems don’t do whatever it is. All republicans don’t do whatever it is.
Speaking of such, I hate that Democrats have become “dems”. I think it’s a derogatory term. Let me tell you a little story.
I belong to a small country church. It is a “sister” church to another church that is fairly close by. For those of you not rural, it’s really common for one minister to serve two churches and share expenses. That was our arrangement. The two churches weren’t getting along. We were having pastor issues. We were having issues about who was paying what percentage of the pastor’s salary. It was a mess. The pastor ended up leaving (thank goodness) and we got a new pastor. Our family loved the new one.
One of the first things he did was this: He asked that the congregations no longer call each other by the “nickname”. Our church was St. John’s but we had long been called “Stapleton” as that is the township the church was in. The other church, St. Peter’s, was called Richfield as that is the township it is in. He asked that if we were talking about the other church, we refer to it as the official name…for my church, St. John’s. He asked the opposite of the other church.
I know it sounds silly…but… it really made a difference for me.
It was hard to say “Well St. Peter’s does this”…there is something about saying something iffy, when using the name ‘St. Peter’ in the sentence. It was really easy to say “Richfield does this”…Somehow talking about the other church using it’s respectful, rightful, given name that was biblically centered made me be more respectful and cautious of what I was saying.
I think this is the same when referring to people who align with the Democratic party. We should refer to them as Democrats…not “dems”.
I would also like to tell all the people on Facebook that sweet things are a much better way to get my interest in your candidate. Tell me something nice about them. Tell me something good they did. Tell me something they are for. Tell me how they were in a crisis situation. Tell me ALL OF THE THINGS ABOUT YOUR CANDIDATE. Don’t tell me anything about the opposing candidate…as what you say negative about the opposing candidate only makes you look defensive. Play the offense….you bring your candidate to light I would love to hear that.
If I were to pick someone to listen to as far as their suggestion on how I should vote, I would like to hear this…
I like this about Sanders and I like this about Warren…but this person is the candidate I would vote for because of this. Or…I like this about Trump but I don’t like this about him. I wish there was an alternate choice on the Republican side that cared more about this because that is important to me.
These are conversations. These built knowledge and give people good information to use on voting day. These make me believe the person has thought through their voting options.
If someone says, “I think Trump is awful” and gives me no evidence I’m not likely to listen to them. If someone says Amy Klobuchar is so wonderful and doesn’t give evidence. I’m not likely going to listen to them either.
All I can say is thank heavens the Iowa Caucus in today.
We Iowans have been bombarded with phone calls, ads and the like ever since Thanksgiving. Once today is over, they will all be heading your way and you too might find yourself tired of the ads and the political arena.
In case you are wondering:
I do not consider myself democrat.
I do not consider myself a republican.
I do not consider myself an independent.
I’m me. I vote for the person who I feel most aligned with. I vote for the person I feel will best serve our country. I think all people should vote for the candidate and not just the party…
I am saddened by the division in our country and sadly, I don’t see it getting any better in the next election.
Sorry to say anything about politics..that’s the last I’ll say on the election besides this: I’ll be so happy for November 4th when it’s all over again!!
Amen, we share the same views on all this political stuff!!!
I wish we could all think as you do. And I wish you were my neighbor. Voting should result from a position of thoughtfulness. It’s a shame that Civics is not taught in schools any longer. So many of our young people have no idea how to think about the upcoming election.
I live in an area where I am being bombarded with phone calls from gun activists. I choose not to answer any of these calls. I won’t be answering any of the election calls, either. I know of no other way to fight back than vote my conscience and dodge the phone.
I can’t love your post enough!
Thank you for standing up for RESPECT! Nicknames and abbreviations are derogatory and that leads to the slippery slope of contempt and negativity.
Respect each other!
I agree about the ads! I’m sick of them already. I unfortunately live just southwest of Milwaukee and we unfortunately get the Democrat convention. It will be a logistical nightmare for traffic, etc. and with all the “normal” violence already in Milwaukee it won’t be good. I’m so glad I don’t work in the city. I can’t imagine how hard it would be to get to work during that time. One of Sanders campaign leaders has already said that Milwaukee will burn if Sanders isn’t the nominee and businesses should be destroyed but not people. Who thinks that way????? Not a good sign of things to come so I’m not looking forward to have any of this in our state. I can’t wait to vote in November and hopefully be done with all this!
Thank you so much Jo. I’m so tired of being put in a box because of who or what my party is. I have voted for anyone at one time or the other. Normally vote for the moderate who can best serve our nation regardless of party. I want to hear what the candidate can DO for our country not what the other person is against. If you can’t do that then you will not get my vote!
Well said, Jo!
Jo, I wish I felt optimistic about “it” all being over after Nov. 4th. That seems so far away. I think this country will continue to stay divided with horrible things being said back and forth against each other. It is so sad, and I don’t know what will end it. I pray this country survives. Everything seems headed down the toilet. I try to stay more positive by reading good books, quilting and enjoying my grandchildren. Watching them makes the world feel better!!
Thanks for the post, Jo. I’m so worried for our country. I can’t believe how nasty things have become. It’s really sad how derogatory the nicknames are for some of our leaders. Unbelievable that this behavior happens. I pray for our country to be united again.
My Belief is to Pray for those in office. Just as we should pray one for another. Pray for this Country and for those who have no voice…
100% agree with you Jo. I’d like to have the campaigns limited to 2 months- Enough time to tell us what we TRULY need to know about the candidates.I just don’t know it’s gotten so out of hand.
You are so right.
I was awake at 3:00 am and it is now 4:43 am. So I tuned into News Online and saw the non results of the caucuses. What a fiasco and think of all the money that has been spent trying to get votes. And they can’t even add them up. It looks as if Iowa might still be in the news for days to come. Hopefully they will get things straightened out soon.
And I agree with your comments. What I hate about politics is that someone comes up with talking points and everyone in that particular party says the same words in their talking points. And I hate bashing the other candidates as well. If you can’t say something nice, dont say anything at all. I was not a fan of the previous administration but I never called them disgusting names and made ridiculous statements about them. Now, people will make a statement but they won’t back it up with facts. They just repeat what they hear. Maybe the Iowa caucus fiasco is a good thing. We need some major adjustments in the voting process. It shouldn’t be that difficult to count up some votes.
Thank you for saying that about the political ads/ I agree!!!!! I wish people would just get a grip.
Having said that I have been enthralled w how your caucus works.
I couldn’t have said it better myself. I want to hear positives. I am not a person who enjoys seeing people torn down. I do not follow party lines. I too vote who I think is going to do the best for the people that person represents. I want to get back to realty and putting all people first!
I agree with the political stuff. People can drive you nuts with all that.
But I really want to tell you our small country church has just started ( as of 2 weeks) sharing a pastor with a near by church, and I’m a little worried as to how it will all work out. We are fairly new to this church. So I don’t really know how most people feel about the other church. As for now, they seem good with it. Its just a shame that churches are shrinking in size so much and not many pastors available . Best wishes to your new pastor.
I feel your pain about the political ads, phone calls, door knocking etc. I live in NH and CANNOT wait for the primary to be over.
My dad was a preacher , he always said ” never discuss two things – religion and politics ” and I agree. Have a Blessed week.
Maybe you need a woman president to show your politicians how to behave nicely.
I’m a Canadian and amazed at what is going on
I love the political process. . . the way it was intended to be; not what it has become.
Back when I was in high school there were voter registration drives for the seniors that were turning 18 to register at school. We were taught about the process of elections in History class. Things were civil back then.
I think the turning point, or at least when I started noticing that politics was becoming un-civil, was when Bill Clinton, in an interview on MTV was asked the question “boxers or briefs”. From that point on the political process started to go into a downward spiral.
The politicking that goes on now makes things so hard to try to decide who to vote for. . . .there seems to be very little substance and a whole lot of nastiness in everything from ads, speeches, mailings, etc.
I agree with everything that you said. . . . .and only wish that we, the voters, somehow can get a message to our politicians that we are tired of the BS they are throwing around. . . . .they seem worse than kindergarten children at recess with the way they act.
Have a lovely day.
Hi Jo!
Very well said!! Can’t put it any more eloquently than that.
Thanks for stating what needs to be said.
I usually quit reading any post about politics because they start bad-mouthing a person and/or party. Your post is the one and only that I have made it to the end! WooHoo. I wholeheartedly agree! If more people spoke up about having positive instead of negative campaigns, maybe we can leave all this negativity behind and treat each other respectfully. I also want to add that I know people who will purposely call it the Democrat Party knowing full well that it’s the Democratic Party and they do it as a way to demean the party. It’s that kind of negativity that is tearing our nation apart. Thank you for speaking up and making a very valid point!
Thank you for this very thoughtful comment on this campaign season. i agree with you and I have had to delete and stop following some very creative people because they became “spokes people” for their chosen candidate while putting down the opposing one. Again thank you !
Amen. Too much claims and name calling and never any support to back it up. My very young cousin( I’m 50). Want a a good kind caring candidate. I want some one who can get the job done. I don’t need charisma or talk. Action.
I will also be glad when Nov. 4 is over & done with. Like you, I wish candidates would stand up and say what they stand for, what they see as problems and how they will attempt to fix them. I want to know what their plan is for bringing our country together again and make life better for people. I don’t want them to harp on how awful the other candidates are, inappropriate things the did in their youth, scandals real or imagined. I may be registered in a certain party, but like you, I vote for who I think will be best for our country. And if I don’t think either is worth much I vote for the one I think will do the least harm. And I think it’s so sad to have to do that.
Janet, FWIT, many Trump supporters have said similar outrageous things if Trump doesn’t win. Both are not American patriots.
Jo, you said it well and I agree. I vote for whomever I feel I can support. I want to hear the positive things about a person running, not have them bash the other candidates. I know many of them promise things they can’t deliver.
You put exactly the right thoughts forward. Thank you for that thoughtful post.
I appreciate your thoughts. Personally I would like to do away with the parties and vote for the person who will do the best job. I know that will never happen, but I wish it could. Like you said, we all need to respect each other. We also need to expect those in power to act with integrity.