The Purpose Of An Election

The purpose of an election is of course to select a candidate to become an office holder. But it is much more. It is meant to unite us in exploring solutions to solve our common problems. As such, an election should be conducted with civility and respect and with a focus on what is best for us as a nation or for our congressional district or for our community.

But in the U.S. today, we live up to none of this. Instead, elections are about misrepresentations of one's positions, name calling, character assignation and about the raising of as much money as possible with which to do these things.

There are no exciting new ideas being presented, no sense of brotherhood, no good natured humor and no attempts to reconcile our ever widening differences as our nation's growing divide moves us into the realm of the ungovernable, one unresponsive to its citizens and to the rest of the world.

It matters not what we call ourselves, Republican or Democrat, Liberal or Conservative, Tea Party or Occupy Wall Street or anything else. For our house is on fire and when houses are on fire, firefighters don't sit around insulting each other in petty disputes, they unite and put the fire out. It is long past time for us to stop our bickering and unite to put out our fire, so we can serve our common interests and build a better tomorrow for everyone.

Dick