I have been voting since 1962 and covering elections as a full-time reporter since 1968 - and I have never seen this country so polarized
as it is now.
I am ashamed of what is going on.
It has gotten to the point where so many on one side are so mistrustful of the other that they cannot conceive of anyone who doesn't think like they do, politically. To coin one of the president's favorite phrases when talking to other countries in describing the war on terror: you are either for us or against us.
What happened in this country to the respect that each major political party and their
supporters had for each other, its ideals and its supporters? Sure, there have always been disagreements over what each party stood for. That's the way the system is supposed to work
- but there was respect involved, a feeling of "okay, you won this time, enjoy the ride, we'll see you in four years - but we'll be keeping a close eye on you." It certainly
seems to me that there is no longer that respect. What happened to disagreeing agreeably? What's with this in-your-face "I'm right, you're wrong, end of discussion" attitude?
Contrary to what many on the left think, all Republicans are not rich, incompassionate, war-mongering, religious zealots, and all Democrats, contrary to what many on the right think, are not godless, tax-and-spend liberals, hell-bent on carrying this
country down the road to socialism.
I think it all began with the election of Bill Clinton in 1992, fueled by the Republican takeover of Congress two years later, Clinton's re-election in 1994, and George W. Bush's election in 2000. Along the way the flames have been fanned by the mushrooming popularity of political talk shows - the Rush Limbaughs and Sean Hannitys on one side and Air America on the other. You can add to the mix the 24-hour cable news networks with their non-stop coverage and the proliferation of political Web sites - many of which stretch the truth in many instances. And, what about Michael Moore's anti-Bush movie "Farenheit 9/11," Jerry Flalwell's "the Clintons are guilty of murder and much worse" video, and the anti-Kerry documentary a conservative media mogul plans to show on 62 of his television stations?
Have you been reading that there are teams of lawyers on both sides already standing by in a number of states (especially the so-called "swing states") ready to challenge the outcome of the presidential election over the slightest of errors or appearance of errors? Is
this the true legacy of what happened four years ago? Will we ever have another presidential election that is not overly scrutinized by those who can't stand the thought of the other side winning?
Heaven help us if that's the case.
I said earlier November 3 can't get here soon enough for me. But, even that probably won't cure things.
At any rate, to paraphrase Rodney King: can't we all just get along - again?
Ken Stanford is the longtime news director for WDUN NEWS TALK 550, AM 1240 SPORTS RADIO THE TICKET and MAJIC 1029 and is editor of AccessNorthGa.com.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2004/11/147310