Home for the weekend.

We just got back from a nice visit in my home town in Wyoming. It's a great time to go home, because it's off-season, and we didn't have to wait in line to get into restaurants, or poke along behind overladen recreational vehicles driven by people on the lookout for a moose in a top-hat, or whatever it is they think they're going to see. The valley was quiet, the trees bare, the air crisp, and the trails muddy. Miles got filthy on a short hike we took into the national forest, but he definitely kept up with us, his short little legs a blur as he trotted along behind me, but ahead of my husband. He feels safest when he's surrounded by trusted humans, I think, which makes me think that all his bluster in our known neighborhood is all posing.

Meal-time conversations weren't quite as peaceful as our time spent in nature. People could not seem to stay away from the topic of the election, and blood boiled on both sides. The younger folks, including myself, tend toward liberalism more than the older generation, and many heated exchanges about Barack Obama and Sarah Palin took place. One family member announced to a table full of senior citizens that he feels Palin is too ignorant to take office as our nation's Vice President, a comment that seemed to offend one of our old friends, who then charged that Obama is no more experienced than she is. I tried to defend Obama, but I left the conversation feeling upset. It seems American politics are plagued by borderline-insults aimed at people on the other side, a tendency that precludes open discussion about ideas. Everyone shouts, and no one listens.

Whatever happens in this election, I sincerely hope that the deep fractures that have divided America will find a way to heal. Democracy cannot function if it's being run by two sides who cannot hold a conversation about policy. The animosity on both sides of the political fence must cool down if we're to accomplish anything as a nation. We've got too many serious problems at home and abroad to spend our time bickering about religion and ideology. It's time for both democrats and republicans to step down from their pulpits and get to work on practical solutions. I believe that Obama, who isn't beholden to a fiercely religious base, is the man to do it, and I'll vote for him. Whoever wins, though, I'm planning on being a voice, not only for liberal values, but for respectful discussion. There's got to be a way for conservatives and liberals to have conversations with each other without slinging insults.