I find it so sad how this election has probably been one of the most divisive elections in American history. I can say with certainty that it is the most volatile one I've ever witnessed. I wonder why this election has brought out the worst in people.
I grew up in a home where my mother was never a registered voter, but my grandmother and my father voted Republican, regardless of how they felt about the party's candidate. It was simply what you did. I couldn't wait until I turned seventeen and a half, because that meant I was eligible to register to vote, even though I could not legally vote until I was eighteen. I was nineteen when I voted in my first presidential election. My dad took me before work and explained to me how to use the polling machines and talked me through the voting guide as we waited in line, in the freezing cold rain at eight in the morning. I stood in line for hours. I didn't know anything about the candidates, so my dad explained to me why I should vote for Bush. Having been involved heavily in the Baptist church for the past eight years, I had heard much about "the evil, left-wing agenda". I went into the booth, selected Bush and that was that.
Over the next few years I went through some changes, both spiritually and mentally. I was living on my own and realized I wasn't the social conservative my father and grandmother were. My mother was the more liberal one in the family. My father and I used to carpool to work and most afternoons would end up fighting all the way home about the Sean Hannity radio program.
It was no secret that, in the beginning of the election, I was a supporter of Senator Obama. Then there came a period of time where I felt like the naive first-time voter, dependent upon my father's explanations of things to shape my decision. I didn't support McCain/Palin, but my support for Obama began to wane. It wasn't until recently that I realized I had two choices in this election. I could stay at home and not vote for the first time since I became a registered voter, or I could vote for the Obama/Biden ticket.
This sent my entire family through the roof. Ever since then it has been like a war zone every time I'm with my family. Arguments erupt over how my dad thinks McCain and Palin are above reproach. I can say nothing positive about Obama without my family making some nasty comment. I was even surprised when my own mother began using racial epithets when talking about Obama. It made me feel so ashamed and sad for my family, because they've never been this angry over who I supported in an election.
The icing on the cake was this past weekend. I went to the grocery store with my parents and younger brother and made a comment about how I was surprised I had not seen the first Obama yard sign in our town. I've seen a lot of McCain/Palin signs and banners and a few Obama bumper stickers, but no signs. This innocent observation sparked yet another fight which ended in my father telling me, "I thought I raised you better than this. I can't believe you hate your country so much that you would vote for the only candidate in American election history that would F* up this country the way Obama would." Then my younger brother, who never has a negative word to say about anyone, walked by me and said, "I don't care who you vote for. Just so long as you aren't stupid and vote for Obama." I've also been accused of not loving my son if I vote for Obama.
I cried that night. The next day I confronted my father and told him how much his words the day before hurt me. I said, "who I vote for should not determine my character." He said, "it does in this election, but you're too much of a crybaby liberal extremist to see that." and walked away. I've never considered myself an extreme anything. I'm not a hardcore Democrat or Republican. I vote for whichever candidate I feel is the best choice. I tend to be more liberal on social issues and more moderate-left on fiscal issues, but to have my father refer to me as "a crybaby liberal extremist" hurt.
Surely I am not the only person who has experienced their family being torn apart by this election.
When the government nationalised the banks she was so excited the poor dear had to go have a lie down.
