to try to turn to a positive note after days of politically related worry...

To Whomever Reads This:

I have spent the past few days reading, thinking, worrying, and downright obsessing about the US Presidential race. I have gotten so deep into fear and depression, that I have decided I need to do a few things to counter that, or I'll stop being productive on a day-to-day basis.

I've never written a blog before, and have mixed feelings about the whole thing, but I guess on the off-chance that there's someone else out there who is having a similar experience, or who would be helped by anything I experience & write about, that's enough of a reason to try it. The next year will be hard on most of us in various ways, and coming together in some sort of community, however amorphous, will probably help.

What I mainly want to do right now is to get a couple of things down "on paper" before I go to sleep and forget them.

I want to live in an America in which equal rights are guaranteed for every citizen, and not determined by religion. I want to live in an America in which there is a true separation of church and state, so that all rights, responsibilities, and consequences under the law granted and meted out by the society are available and effective for all. Thus, every person can eat, work, own property, marry, make a will, have children, seek restitution, receive a quality education, etc, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or personality. Equally, every person is equally responsible to the law, regardless of wealth, position, race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, etc.

I want to live in an American in which any religion may set any rules it wishes to for itself and its congregants, accepting that where those rules come into conflict with those of the society at large, its members will have to abide by America's laws for the good of the society at large.

I want to live in an America in which politicians, recognizing that their religion is not the religion of the state or of the entire population, commit to make policy without reference to the rules of their religion.

I want to live in an America in which we agree to a process that benefits the good of the entire nation, and not just ourselves and those we know and like or who are like us.

I want to live in an America in which we recognize that we can't all "just get along" (we're not that evolved) but that we can prioritize working together anyway, even with our really enormous differences.

My own personal experience is one of the reasons why I believe that it is realistic rather than cynical to say that we can't all just get along. I have a hard time getting along with people who say "Only Christians can be truly tolerant", or "Marriage is between a Man and a Woman, not between a Man and his Animal!", as I heard practically shouted as part of a wedding service in which the officiant said that allowing gays to marry would open the door to allowing people to marry their dogs. But, I am not interested in denying the people who espouse those views the rights and responsibilities that are at the heart of being citizens of this country. And in terms of participating in a joint civic process, I think we need to try to reach out to others and not just live in our own little enclaves.

I want to live in an America where the media performs its role as a neutral watchdog and purveyor of information. The media should not create and break candidates. I want to live in an America in which actual issues and platforms are debated, discussed, and chosen, rather than the situation where relative celebrity decides a politician's success.

I want to live in a country in which I am represented and feel what I stand for isn't seen as such a huge threat, immoral, etc. But then these wishes are getting into what I've been feeling so depressed about, so I think I'll just stop here and say, ah well....for next time, life and the universe. :-)