Check out Collage...It's Almost Giveaway Week

There's a new cooperative venture out there...a blog titled Collage-a collection of diverse opinions. Our good blog friend Jill, from Caffeine Court started it and I'm pleased to be a contributor. Our first assignment last week was the Presidential Election. Since I'm busy putting the finishing touches on my Giveaway posts for this week, I thought I'd share with you what I wrote for Collage. I encourage you to hop on over there and see what else is waiting...Jill is really challenging us to think!

The title of my post was Respect in Politics...and here it is for your reading pleasure.
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I'm 46 years old (yikes, 47 next week), a wife, school district administrator, mother of two almost grown up children and lover of politics. My son, who is in his first year of law school, was a Political Science major and as you can imagine, we've had many a lively conversation over the years. In the small town I grew up in, most everybody was a believer in the "solid south." That has changed. Amazingly, in this same small town since the 1970's a number of the county offices like Clerk of Court and Probate Judge have been held by women...good solid women who were the mothers of my friends and who played a big role in the person I've become. The day I registered to vote, the Probate Judge hugged me and whispered, "If you can't vote democrat, stay home on election day." Sometimes I've followed her rule and sometimes I haven't, but I always vote, and have never voted a straight ticket ever. It's about the individual candidate and the individual issues as far as I'm concerned. I have my opinions as do you, but it has bothered me lately when I've read what I consider to be MEAN things on blogs in regard to the opinions of people who were contrary to that of the blogger...whether he or she be Democrat, Republican, or Independent. Can we not agree to disagree, and take advantage of the freedom we have to engage in meaningful discourse with respect for an opposing opinion?

In The Land of Belle (my little perfect world) people would always check things out before they passed along bad, negative, or just plain not true and out of context information about the candidate they do not like. Let's be POSITIVE and RESPECTFUL. The bottom line is this...either Obama or McCain will be the next leader of the free world and whichever one is elected, a lot of people will be disappointed. Here's the thing...I'll campaign hard for my candidate but come the morning after election day whomever has been chosen will be my President-elect and the campaign sign will be removed from the yard, the bumper sticker on my car will be in the trash can and I will be SOLIDLY behind the winner...MY President-elect, whether Obama or McCain. I encourage you to do the same.