It is that time again, where we all get together and decide who will represent us for the next two, four, or six years. I am almost giddy with anticipation, but I will not be sad when the excitement is over. I enjoy the process, at least to some extent, but it is tiring too. So much partisanship, and after a while I just want to tune out.

I have this problem where my ideology isn’t a great match for any particular political party. In some ways I align fairly well with the conservative viewpoint, but in others I feel much more connected with the liberal ideas. To a certain extent I can appreciate the psychoses of both sides. It is a little terrifying.

Democrats really do have a problem with attitude and a ‘cancel culture’ as it were. If you do not toe the consensus line, you will get ridiculed and shunned, and if you do it in a public venue you may find people trying to get you fired. It is frightening, to be honest, because I have seen some examples where people merely expressed some critical thoughts and were immediately accused of being racist, bigoted, misogonyst, etc. This is not productive, and we need to find more of a place where constructive dialog can happen or we will just see even more division in the future.

Republicans, on the other hand, have their own serious problems with actual racism, bigotry, etc. Failure to directly condemn those who spew such rhetoric leads to accusations that the party and its members actually endorse that viewpoint. It is especially difficult to clear the air on this because Republicans instinctively oppose movements like Black Lives Matter, which I assume is for political reasons since there is little reason to actually believe black lives do not matter. Why else go out of your way to disagree with an obvious truth unless there is a political motivation behind it?

I find it disheartening that each side really believes all of these terrible (and usually untrue, or at least greatly exaggerated) things about the other side. Not all Republicans are racist, not all Democrats are socialists. Those of us who would prefer to just talk about issues instead are drowned out by the partisans who only want to sling mud.