In 2024, Vote Kindness.

Or vote that that’s an extremely cheesy thing to think, not to mention write, in an election year that’s already starting to boil over with intensity.

AND it’s ONLY May. 

Have you noticed that election years are starting to feel about as enjoyable as going to the dentist every hour on the hour?  And if you’re really into the dentist for some reason, picture the torment of an afternoon at the DMV, every afternoon from now until election day.  

Getting to the finish line of each day, sorting through all the emotions, deciding what to post on social media and what to keep to ourselves can require epic strength.  Hey, maybe the 24-hour news cycle can become the first Olympic event for ordinary people. 

In any case, it’s all often exhausting. 

A central feature of politics today is its often irresistible invitation to have exceedingly strong and opposing opinions.  With the growing ferocity of it all, this can seem like an insurmountable problem that’s only developed in the last handful of years.

But I would wager vast sums of money that human beings have always had very strong and frequently differing opinions.  Imagine a group of cave people responsible for feeding and clothing their clan.  Don’t you think they may have butted heads and fought over differing views on the best places to hunt?  I’d imagine they were forceful in expressing the rightness of their opinions because the issue they were debating was the difference between eating well or starving to death. 

I’m also willing to bet that you have friends and family with different political beliefs than you do.  AND no, this isn’t your opportunity to call them cavemen.    

I have plenty of friends with differing views.  If I instigated lengthy arguments trying to convert them to seeing politics my way, I would have many strained relationships. 

Perhaps the biggest fake news story of them all is that there’s nothing else of importance going on in the United States besides the election and the endless news stories surrounding it.  Luckily, this couldn’t be farther from the truth.  There’re sports and movies and kids and food and nature and travel and caring for each other and ourselves to talk about.  And the list goes on and on and on.  

So when my political views diverge from those of my friends, I’d much rather strive to have wonderful, high-quality conversations about topics other than politics.  I find there’s so much joy, support, comfort and kindness in having friends with a wide variety of political views.

I say this while still very much believing that politics matter.   I believe it’s important to support the issues and the candidates who we feel will do the best job and that it’s important to vote.  

Our ancestors didn’t always agree and yet here we are.  Let’s make the best of what we have, both for ourselves and for future generations.