You're gonna' have to chew your way out

In 2008, my husband carved a "Kerry" pumpkin and put it in front of our house. Overnight, it was replaced with a "Bush" pumpkin. That, my friends, was funny and clever. My facebook account has been hacked, sending out false posts supposedly from me, saying I'm voting for Romney. Also, funny and clever. (Though also more irritating, since now I don't know how far the hacking goes) 

What these pranks remind me, luckily, is that I cannot become obsessed with the political game, buying into the rhetoric and propaganda from either side. If I let myself, I will become agitated, then anxious, then narrow-mindedly focused, swallowed by the beast. And while in the belly of the beast, I lose sight of the big picture: the world outside of Washington politics. While we are all affected by policy and law on some level, my daily interactions with the humans around me, the choices I make to live ethically and compassionately are my own. Believe me, I support voting and democracy . . . but I really support it. I support debating the angles of every issue, not supporting the dogmatic, status-quo views of anyone, and I hate any argument that simply employs attacks on people instead of ideas.

There was a study done in 2008 (I'll post when I find the link) regarding the physical response of people when they witnessed their preferred political candidate being bashed. People's brains lit up in the fight-or-flight sections, the same parts of the brain that react when people witness violent acts, or their beloved sport team getting hammered. The physical reaction in the brain was involuntary and uncontrollable. There was a visceral response in the person's gut when they saw the person they had chosen to be leader being photoshopped with monkey ears or when a radio commentator slurred him or her.The reactions were not intellectual or emotionally-unbiased; that person could not step outside the belly of the beast. If you want to side-step your gut instinct, you're gonna' have to chew your way out.

To claim that we are voting from SOLELY an intellectual stand point is just not true. We are voting based on loyalty and tradition, and our gut instincts. Then we look for information that will support our gut instinct. That is how we humans roll. The debates, the essays, the political dialogue on CNN . . . is it changing your mind? Have you heard some fresh, new spin on international relations and sat up, thinking, "Damn, I've been wrong. That guy is so right." If not, you can assume your neighbor is also not swayed by the scripted talking points. So why be mad at that neighbor for reacting the same way you are?

I'm not saying we're a nation of non-thinkers. Most of us are voting from a standpoint that we are trying to do what is best for our community and America, not just on a blind whim. But sometimes we need to be reminded to put our heads up, look around at the bigger picture, and assess our place in it. And I'm also sayin' sometimes we need to be reminded that life is funny. Even if it's gallows-funny.