Purple State Blues
I love living in Colorado. Purple mountain majesty, healthy lifestyle, and all the rest. But right now, I envy my friends in California and Utah, and any other state that is rigidly blue or red.
Colorado is a purple state. A battleground state where pollsters can’t solidly predict who will win the electoral votes in the presidential election.
As a purple state, we are visited frequently by both candidates. It seems like one of them is here every few days. You’d think it would be exciting, and I have gone to a couple of political rallies. But after a while, it’s just a pain. I roll my eyes when I hear that Obama’s coming . . . again . . . and the freeway will shut down right about the time I have to drive to work. The phone rings all too often with an announcement that Romney’s doing a rally. At this point, I just want them all to stay home.
That’s not the worst of it though. That would be the TV, radio, and print ads. They have invaded every form of media like hideous tiny monsters poised to jump out at any minute. Research says that 97% of the ads are negative. However, I didn’t need research to tell me that. The ads are the worst kind of name calling and, frankly, lying.
Each candidate twists information to suit his agenda. (I say “his” because right now all the leading players are men. However, female politicians are just as vicious.) Information is taken out of context. Fact checking is left to the fact-checkers – I’m not sure the candidates care, as long as they twist the “facts” to their advantage. The spin is so dizzying, it gives me a headache.
If it were only media that was a problem, I’d try to ignore it. But the election ugliness filters into dinner parties, church meetings, and everyday conversation. There’s a certain tension during everyday interactions – will she or won’t she bring up her disdain for Romney . . . again? Will he start ranting again about Obama’s foreign policy? Will this pleasant chatter dissolve into anger, fist-pounding, or annoyance?
Of course blue and red staters have these issues too. This is a mean-spirited election. It seems like the ugliest campaign in my lifetime, or at least since I started paying attention. In my twenties I was apathetic, more concerned with dates and school than who would be the leader of the free world. During my thirties, I was busy raising three young boys, too tired at the end of a day to study the headlines and read party platforms. But those years passed, and I took notice.
Those days seem so simple now. Sometimes I yearn for that blissful ignorance . . . or at least a red or blue state.
