Say what you will about brutal dictatorships, but at least they don’t subject their populace to bitterly contested presidential elections every four years.
Utah wasn’t even a “battleground state,” so the campaign attack ads weren’t nearly as bad as they were in places like Ohio and Florida. And yet, even here in relatively politically ignored Utah, by last weekend the normally sweet-tempered woman who shares my television was ready to put her size 9 bunny slipper right through the screen.
Now that the 2012 race is over, I believe I speak for Americans everywhere — and even several eavesdropping alien civilizations unlucky enough to be monitoring our broadcast transmissions of late — when I say the thing we’re most grateful for at the Thanksgiving season is that this whole election unpleasantness is finally behind us.
Or is it?
Seems some of you out there didn’t get the memo.
Social networking sites like Facebook continue to reverberate with the shallow posts of a few boorish individuals who can’t get it through their thick skulls that the race ended last week. Incredibly, these partisan warriors continue to fight on like some wild-eyed Japanese soldier from World War II, holed up in a cave on a remote Pacific island, unaware that peace was declared years ago.
I never thought I’d say this, but I actually kinda miss the mundane Facebook posts about what you had for breakfast, or the absolutely precious thing your cat did today, or how many crops you’ve harvested on Farmville this week.
I guess I expected things to be different on Wednesday. I thought we’d wake up, and all of the people who had said all of the hateful things about the two presidential candidates would have moved on to some other task befitting their skill set. Like pulling the wings off butterflies. Or kicking puppies and kitties.
For all the skin they had in this game, the two men at the center of the storm — Barack Obama and Mitt Romney — kept things in the proper perspective. President Obama showed genuine class in his victory speech, and Gov. Romney was gracious in defeat. But apparently, a number of you out there don’t see the need to show either of these traits. Civility takes a holiday, eh?
Just so y’all know, I flatly reject your silly notion that Republicans hate women and blacks. Just as I refuse to go along with your moronic claim that Democrats hate God and America. Seriously, go peddle your half-witted hatemongering somewhere else; we’re all stocked up here.
So then, what takes the award for stupidest post-election Facebook status coming from the right? That would be the chilling, thinly-veiled threat: “Our forefathers would be shooting by now.” Well. There’s someone who clearly doesn’t understand the concept of free and fair elections.
And the stupidest post from the left? The U.S. maps comparing the 2012 electoral college results to Civil War-era slave/free states. Which attempts to make, I suppose, the clumsy point that you’re a racist if you voted for the white guy.
Look, for almost a week now, I’ve been cutting some slack to you Romney supporters who continue to post mean, angry, hateful things about the president. I get it. You’re hurting. The candidate you deeply believe in didn’t get elected, so it’s understandable there would be a certain amount of frustration.
But now I say: Suck it up, princesses. The president was re-elected, and believe it or not, the country will still be here when you run your next candidate at the Dems in four years. If you don’t believe that, then you obviously don’t have much faith in this nation that you call the greatest on Earth.
And I have even less tolerance for those of you whose candidate actually won on Tuesday night. He WON, and yet you continue to carp about Romney? To be sure, nobody likes a sore loser. But everybody hates a sore winner.
You did it. Your guy was re-elected. Enjoy it. Celebrate, even. But here’s a tip: It’s extremely unbecoming to have beaten an opponent on the field, and then go into the locker room for a post-game rant about what a bunch of losers your opponents are. It only serves to make you look petty and small. (Just ask former Brigham Young University quarterback Max Hall about that one.)
Besides, hearing your continued disparaging comments about Romney makes me wonder if maybe you aren’t trying to convince yourselves that you really did make the right choice in Tuesday’s election.
You know, we all give lip service to this idea that we should be Americans first — not Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, red or blue. And yet, an annoyingly vocal group of partisan pinheads, from both sides, continues to push this destructive us-vs.-them mentality.
No, our forefathers wouldn’t be shooting by now, but it’s a good bet they’d be spinning in their graves.
Mark Saal is already listening to Christmas music. Contact him at 801-625-4272 or msaal@standard.net.
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