This is the day! While surely many will thank God that such denotes the end of the inundation of political advertising, today also marks the anniversary of the Intramuralist. Four years ago on election day, this blog began. My reason for writing that day was because my strong sense was the wisdom shared would be the same regardless of the election’s outcome.
We then posted the following:
TOP 10 THINGS I LEARNED FROM THIS ELECTION CYCLE:
- People will do anything to win.
9. Tina Fey is a comedic genius.
8. Limericks using “Obama” can be fun (“Homearama”… yo momma…).
7. Jesus would not be a Democrat OR a Republican.
6. Objectivity in the media cannot be assumed.
5. No party has a true grasp of all that encompasses social justice.
4. “Feminism” does not mean “in support of all women.”
3. People need to pray for our nation more than once every 4 years.
2. Most people don’t know how to respect those with whom they disagree.
And for this playful artist…
1. Both Presidential and ‘Veep’ candidates will be fun to caricature over the next 4 years!
As for this current election cycle, many of the above observations were again made manifest, although I would also add the following:
10 MORE THINGS I LEARNED FROM THIS ELECTION CYCLE:
10. A combined campaign costing approx. $2 billion cannot be a process that’s pure.
9. Hope and change mean different things to different people.
8. Racial and religious discrimination is still alive on planet Earth — and often in more places than vocal victims claim it to be.
7. Vice Presidents don’t require polished speaking skills.
6. Budgets make politicians financially accountable.
5. Government mandated health care is divisive.
4. First ladies always have a cool side.
3. Debates matter.
2. Spending is far easier than saving.
And…
1. A President Romney wouldn’t be as much fun to caricature — although Paul Ryan, that’s a different story! (Sorry, friends… it’s all about the facial features…)
The reality is that on Wednesday, our country has a lot of work to do. First, we have to recognize that many candidates (on the federal, state, and local level) intentionally divided the country in order to spur on their own election. Perhaps it’s not as self-serving as we’re oft inclined to conclude, as many candidates believe so deeply in both their articulated and unarticulated agendas, that the end justifies their divisive means. Allow me to simply say that if I ever ran for office, I would hope to not fall prey to such alienating activity.
Also, after intentionally investing in the sewing up our nation’s political scars, we must then tackle a run-away economic situation and get control of our nation’s debt. We must return to and embrace our (responsible) fiscal and (thus also moral) roots. Regardless of how passionate any of us is about any budget category or entitlement, our spending patterns over the past 12 years cannot be sustained; our fiscal fragility must be aggressively addressed.
Enough of that. Happy Anniversary, friends! Thanks for modeling respectful dialogue with me and one another. You have done your job well!
And here’s to 2016! Maybe I’ll be running. More likely, I suspect, I’ll be busy with new caricatures.
Respectfully,
AR