What is happening to the people in our country?

I have been an independent since I graduated from college. After the divisiveness of the Clinton years, I prefer not to go into elections with the mindset that I am beholden to one candidate or the other just because they are or are not in the party I happen to belong to. Nineteen months ago, going into this political season, I was intrigued by Obama more than any other democrat; not because he was an eloquent speaker but because his message gives us a glimpse of the way thinks about the world, as it can be. And, I was still interested in McCain for the same reasons that would have given him my vote in 2000 if the current dimwit in the office had not won out in the republican primaries. Now that both parties have formally nominated their candidates and despite what the pundits and the media write about both of them, I think that McCain is still a moderate republican and that Obama is not nearly as liberal as his opponents claim. I agree with some of the policies each candidate believes in and I also disagree with some of the policies both candidates believe in. As usual, this election may just come down to voting for the lessor of two evils since our country refuses to provide me with a third or fourth alternative for consideration. (Tangent to this opinion, three things I would like to see in American politics my lifetime: a black person as president, a women as president and a third [and/or fourth] political party to add balance and to shake up the status quo from the last 150 years of american politics) Since it comes down to choosing the lessor of two evils, lets talk about the evils I see in our political system that have nothing to do with party affiliations and the policy stances that come with both. For this is what is influencing my vote this year more so than anything else. All political issues and policy stances aside, I am tired of the divisive politics, personal attacks and scare tactics used when one party talks about the other. In my opinion, the people of our country deserve better than that. We deserve attention and focus on the issues that are affecting us now and the policies they will implement that will affect me and my family. After eight years of the worst and most brutal partisanship ever in our country that I have seen (yes, even worse than the Clintons), I am tired of hearing about, from both sides, how bad for our country the other side is.  After listening to the vitriol spewed by (Mr 911) Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Palin at the rnc, I am now, more than ever, turned off by republican politics. Their comments belittled their opponents in a demeaning and offensive manner. When the democrats attacked the republicans the previous week, it was on their policies, not their personal character or work experience leading up to this election. It it is policy that shapes the future of our country, but policy that comes from someone with no respect or common decency or common decency for a fellow American Citizen is not policy I am willing to trust. They (the democrats) strongly disagree with the current presidents policies from the last eight years as well as the conservative theme in the republicans politics from the last 25-30 years (such as trickle down economics that never seem to  trickled down, even after 28 years). They did not belittle McCain’s life work in the military nor the work he has done in the Senate. They did disagree with his positions and votes for Bushes policies, but they did not ridicule him in the manner which Guiliani and Palin did to Obama. To me this is more important than policies or educational qualifications or prior work experience because it speaks volumes of who they are as people and what they represent - intolerance toward those who disagree. If they cannot be civil to thier political opponents and fellow America Citizens how will they treat the leaders of other nation states? Will Mr. McCain and Ms. Palin belittle the leaders of other nations who think and believe differently than they do? Will they resort to petty insults so that they can further their policy and agendas? Will their intolerance of other viewpoints lead us into more wars because they will not respect how other countries view the issues? I certainly hope not, but if they can’t tolerate their opponents and respectfully disagree with their policies, how can I trust that they will approach national and international opposition to their viewpoint with respect towards other viewpoints and opinions of the RIGHT WAY to make things better? Now I am not talking about dealing with terrorists, I am talking about dealing with other countries where they have a vastly different belief system, different mores and culture as well as internally dealing with Americans who have different opinions on the RIGHT WAY to make things better. Based solely on the two political conventions, well the two largest conventions so far this year, this speaks volumes of the differences between the two approaches. On one hand we have candidates that have presented themselves as respectful of their opponents while still defining their differences in policy; detailing who that policy is targeted at and how that policy will improve their lives versus the other party who belittled their opponents in a childish manner while ignoring the effect that Bushes policies have had on our country, our economy and the erosion of our international influence  over the last eight years. Ms Palin and the other speakers did not speak at all about what policy’s they want to change and who’s lives will be most affected by those changes. To give a business analogy (i forget the details but can google them for you if you don’t believe me), I recall hearing a story about the way a CEO conducted interviews for his executive staff. They put the candidate’s through the usual screening and interview process, and then took the potential hire out to dinner. At dinner he arranged for the waiter to mess up the candidate’s meal, spill wine on them and generally bungle the dinner service. All just to see how the candidate would handle the situation. What the CEO was looking for, more than anything in that situation was how the candidate treated the lowly employee; did they berate them and tell them what a horrible job that they were doing? Or did they make the best of the situation and move on with the meal as gracefully as possible. While this isn’t a perfect analogy it reflects the way I think politics should be conducted. As gracefully as possible. Rising above partisanship means having respect for the other side, even when you disagree with them. You can disagree with someone and still define your position without belittling them or their argument. Last night the republicans showed zero respect for their opponents and their opponents spouses. So, while I do not agree with everything Obama stands for, I feel that I have to vote for the person who demonstrates fundamental human decency. I cannot stand with and will not vote for a party that continues the twentieth century stratagy of feeding on emotional, immature and personal attacks to distort what really matters: the current state of our nation and the policies that will affect my future as well as my daughters future. I will not stand with anyone who cannot define their positions without striking out at the character of those who appose them. As Unified Culture said in a song (paraphrasing here), “How can you lend a hand when yours is a fist, a punch, waiting to land?” For as long as I can remember both sides, but the republicans very notably in the last three elections have run their campaigns and administrations with hands like fists. That is not what our founding fathers had in mind when they wrote the Declaration of Independence. I guess that I woke up today with the realization that, for this election, I am no longer an independent voter for the simple reason that the republicans cannot disagree with their opponents in a respectful way, they are willing to punch and strike at their fellow Americans positions with vitriol  and fear mongering. If they cannot disagree with an American in a respectful manner, then how will they handle a new world power like China: who has vastly different morals and ideology from the American Way; as well as a growing economy that will be larger than ours in a few years, more people and more land mass for economic development. It is scary to think that McCain or Palin would talk to or about their counterparts in the Chinese government in the same way they have spoken about their opponents in this election. They have not said that they will do this but the example they are setting in the election speaks louder to me than any words they may say to the contrary. What it is coming down to, for me this year is who is a better person? And all the rightous policy’s and work experience’s in the world are useless if they do not come form a good person. Actions speak louder than words, and last night when Ms. Palin spoke for McCain, her words did not reflect a common decency that human society and the American society needs if it is to survive the next four years, the next four centuries or the next four millennium. If we can’t treat each other with respect, even when we disagree, what kind of future is there for our species? In a perfect world, aka ‘Matthew’s world’, politicians would not be able to say anything about their opponents unless they had something good to say about them. Even though that doesn’t happen much in the real world, I still believe that they should do this; those who cannot will not get my vote.