According to my grandmother and Emily Post (both were always right) my sister and I were admonished to never discuss three things in polite conversation:

Money
Religion
Politics

So here I sit, my blog is due and it is the eve of the 2016 Presidential Election. I can hear MSNBC in the background and it all sounds like gibberish at this point. It doesn’t matter what channel you turn on, whether it’s FOX or CNN, all have declared that this election is the most fractious in history. So yes, my grandmother would be horrified to know that I am discussing this political event in polite company.

I like the sound fractious of and by that I mean how it rolls off the tongue, not the actual definition. Although the dictionary definition gives a pretty good overview on how the debates went … temperamental and cantankerous; Saturday Night Live wins with the replay of absolute ill-humor in the most hilarious way. I laughed until I felt like crying. I wonder if you have been shocked in similar ways. This is where we have landed; a political conversation with innuendos, name-calling and words that should never have been mentioned.

When there are “firsts” of any kind…first African American president, first woman president, the status quo gets shaken to its core. Major change causes folks to be fearful and with fear comes distrust. We are smack into fear, and the first electoral vote has not yet been cast.

My choice this year is to stay true to our process; to commit to not undermining democracy by shouting about election rigging or an FBI misstep stealing an election. I have no idea who will win tomorrow, but I do have great respect for the Office of the Presidency. And no matter who holds the office, at the end of the day it is our democratic process, and it deserves our respect.