As I was jogging along Bear River Trail this morning, I let
my mind wander and go to a place where I’ve never let it go before. I let myself wonder what it would be like to
wake up Nov. 7, and Mitt Romney has been elected President of the United
States. Now, those of you who know me
know that I am a liberal Democrat and an ardent supporter of President
Obama. I very much hope and believe that
he will be re-elected. But, after a poor
debate performance last week by the President and a strong performance by Mitt
Romney, I couldn’t help but become a little nervous, to say the least, so I
decided to plan how I will react if that
happens.
First, I will probably bury myself under blankets and sob
for a couple of days. I should be
allowed as much, I think. But, then I
will have to snap out of it and move on.
Right now, since Mitt Romney is the leader of nothing, and has not
earned my respect, I plan to continue to express my negative opinion of him and
call him out on his lies and flip flops all the way up until election day. You will be able to find many arguments about why I believe what I do on Facebook. But, (and remember I don’t believe this will
happen) if he becomes president, I will really, really try to accept it and
wish him well. There’s little doubt I will
disagree with many of his policies because, after all, I’m a Democrat, but I
will not act as if the world has come to an end and the country is doomed, like
my conservative friends did when President Obama was elected. I remember so well, the night of the election
in 2008, conservatives predicting the end of the world because President Obama
had won. This blatant hatred has
continued throughout his presidency.
They have refused to give him an ounce of credit, while blaming him for everything, including
the weather, and questioning every part of his life from his religion to his
citizenship to his love of and allegiance to the country. I will not do that to Mr. Romney. I will give him a chance and give him credit
for things he does well. I also will not
teach my children to hate him. If he
should become president, I will tell them to always refer to him as President
Romney (oh, that’s difficult to even type). One of the most striking things, to
me, about the last 4 years, has been the hate spewed by my children’s
classmates, about the President, attitudes most likely expressed at home by
adults who should know better. It’s time
for citizens of the United States to stop disrespecting the office of the Presidency. America is better than that.
The scenario of a Romney win frightens me, but realistically
I know my life is not likely to change very much. I honestly believe President Obama is the
better choice for the country. But, if
it doesn’t go that way, I’m going to accept it.
I hope my conservative friends will do the same when (okay, if) President
Obama is re-elected.
We are all Americans and no matter which party has the White
House, we’re fortunate to live in this country and if we forget that, we really
are doomed.
