This election seems to have been going on even longer than usual, or perhaps it’s the insane media coverage and the circus-like atmosphere that accompanied a good deal of it. One can only hope it hasn’t affected our children with long-term negativity, because participating in the electoral process is an important part of our citizenry, and one should be engaged and proud to have the right to vote.
Unlike any past election I can recall, the tone of this went beyond decency and professionalism almost repeatedly. It seemed to grow quite ugly from the first, with vitriol usurping sensibility as the tabloids and other media practically salivated and ratings skyrocketed. We were bombarded with sexual innuendo and tasteless personal references almost from the start, and I was left wondering how families were coping with the inappropriateness of it all and ensuring their children’s attention was elsewhere.
When I was a child I went to the polls with my parents and we voted “together.” They instilled in us a sense of voter privilege and politics was a hot topic around our dinner table, sometimes pleasantly, and sometimes not so pleasantly. As we youngsters began to think for ourselves, our opinions didn’t always coincide with the parental stance around us, and great debates took place that could become quite passionate.
Taking my daughter to vote with me over these past years has been a ritual that has really paid off. She is very vested in the process and is one of many politically engaged millennials. We talk about politics and we discuss the candidates and the issues regularly, and I know she will do the same with her children one day. This is as it should be.
But she is a grown young woman now, yet still I am embarrassed for all the personal smutty negativity she has had to hear in this election. Grown people behaving without cordiality and hurling insulting personal slurs at each other is no intelligent person’s idea of true campaigning. This election has truly been a circus, not completely, but enough so to turn off a new young voter and to have to close the ears or the media outlets so that very young children didn’t get exposed.
One can only hope that the the outcome of the election is respected and that we can move forward with some sense of dignity. Our country is dependent on this and so are our children. The show needs to end and governing on behalf of our electorate needs to commence.
Thanks for reading.
