View From The Porch

It's Presidential election time once again. Are you sick of it yet? I find it odd and somewhat amusing, that for the first time in my life, I am not tuning it out...yet. This is the year, and I am watching American politics from my porch, so to speak -- or maybe I am a member of some peanut gallery that exists on the fringe of things.The thing is, even with all the hoopla, I find it hard to give this getting elected process my complete attention.  I must admit also that - so far - I am amused by it all - or maybe bemused is a more accurate adjective. I honestly have tried to watch what the "news" channels call debates only to find myself annoyed by moderators who love to hear themselves talk and by candidates who are under the delusion that people will hear them if they talk louder while trying to over-talk others. The moderators' questions are longer than the answers, for crying out loud. I find both the moderators and questions to be tedious. I find the frequent tendency of some candidates to interrupt and to be mean disheartening. Yet, on the other hand, -- at the point when there were too many Republican candidates to keep track of, I chuckled when I noticed that one candidate stood on his tippy-toes in order to appear taller. Now -- I continue to appreciate how another smoothly manipulates an arrogant and self-impressed news media.  The media take the bait every single time and still don’t “get it” -- although -- there is a glimmer that a few are beginning to have an inkling. In addition to all this --  I am somewhat disturbed to note that I can be totally distracted by a moderator’s false eyelashes or that a candidate’s pant suits look like something that may have been designed and made in communist Russia during the Cold War.  Yes, the whole process is amusing on some level.  It is also a bit unnerving and exhausting even if you don’t give it your full attention. I do try to focus.  It isn't easy.  As the campaigning trudges through the weeks causing a series of tremors in the already uneven ground of this election year, it gives one pause.  As the barrage of negative advertising attacks increases and becomes more pathetic, my question is -- will we Americans somehow be able to sort it all out and pull it all together?  I think so. We have done it before.  Haven’t we?  What we are witness to now is nothing new in the realm of American politics and elections.  Sad, but....

Here’s the thing…It is important to remember the greatness of America.  We are a country forged by the special talents that come from the blend of cultural diversity.  We are a people descendant of the hardy and courageous. Americans are, for the most part resilient and generous. We face adversity; we sometimes learn from our mistakes; we grow; we adapt.  We give – over and over again, though we rarely receive a Thank You note.  We know in our core that America is a land of lovely picket fences as well as of magnificent sky scrapers, a land of calloused hands and muddy boots as well as of manicured nails and designer wingtips. Here’s another thing – figuratively speaking -- from all walks of life, we still gather on a summer’s day to watch a parade.  Many of us still love a heart touching Norman Rockwell or Currier and Ives moment.  We are there looking on from our porch or participating in -- with a mixture of smiles and teary eyes.  All is not lost. Sometimes it is hard to remember that and to hang on to the belief that there will be a return to some semblance of sanity after the election. We need to remember that we have been surviving politicians and their games for a long time.