I don’t dread many things. I may worry over finals enough to study fairly hard, but I don’t worry my stomach lining away over the results. Therefore, it was a little strange when I dreaded going to each new place for the past week.
Anyone could tell that the country had been at odds over who was going to occupy the oval office. Actually, most of the significant debate was over laws and policies, but a few voters could be swayed over which candidate looked the cutest.
Was this election a popularity contest? Was it a fight for the definition of American values? Was it a struggle over foreign policy?
To use a common phrase: who knows and who cares? What’s done is done, or, as Bush has proclaimed, “America has spoken.” Whether or not we voted for him, we all have to go on with our daily lives.
So why was I dreading going to different places last week? Or, more accurately, why was I feeling like that after Nov. 2?
I was tired of debate. I wanted to live with the results of the election and move on. But I was so afraid that everyone else would still be at odds.
Thankfully, I had nothing to worry about. No one, in fact, really wanted to talk about the election, whether their guy won or not. Whenever a professor would comment about people staying up all night watching the election results, sleepy-eyed students would groan and shift their heads to a more comfortable position on their desks. Normal conversation had gone from intense political debates to light-hearted discussions of whatever was on television besides the election.
In effect, people had gone back to normal.
And this is the best response we can have. It certainly was wonderful that we had so much political participation on campus. Yet we don’t need to let politics rule our relationships and private lives. While good-natured bantering between two friends of opposite end of the political spectrum can be good, bickering is just taking things a little too far.
It is not unheard of for people with different ideologies to be friends, or even life partners. There was one thing that amused me for the past week. Several people asked me how I could plan to marry my fianc when our political views are so different. My fianc and I shared strange looks. That had never been an issue between us.
I’ve heard a few say that they could never be with someone who had different political views. While these people may simply be craving effortless harmony within relationships, I don’t see how political views can be that much of an obstacle.
Use this story as an example. Two men had been friends for many years. One was a conservative Republican pastor, while the other was a liberal Democrat lawyer. During the campaign, they would rib each other about their different views. Anyone who didn’t know them would not think they were friends. Yet, the day after the election, the lawyer went to the pastor’s usual diner, just so the pastor could say, “My guy won.” Of course, the pastor would have done the exact same thing if Kerry had won.
What a friendship.
If you can’t take that example, just look back at the presidential debates. While the candidates were debating over things that they and everyone else felt strongly about, the discussion itself was handled calmly, professionally and intelligently.
Finally, just take a look at Kerry. When he knew that he wouldn’t be able to win the election, he gracefully conceded, citing “[America’s] desperate need for unity, for finding the common ground, coming together.”
Kerry also said, “But in an American election, there are no losers, because whether or not our candidates are successful, the next morning we all wake up as Americans.”
Don’t let disagreements break the unity for which both Bush and Kerry have called. If you decided not to talk to your liberal or conservative friend because of the election, renew that relationship. Start having real conversations instead of Bush-bashing and Kerry-slamming. And remember: just because you can’t marry someone of the same sex doesn’t mean you have to marry someone of the same political party.
Angela Adair is a senior English major. She can be reached at [email protected].