The Energy Of Election Years

Right now, of course, you cannot turn on your radio, TV or computer without hearing endless chatter about the elections. That is to be expected in an election year.

Notice the energy right now. People who are advocating for their candidates are very intense, and that makes sense too. With an election coming in the midst of a war and economic turmoil, there are real issues at stake.

The interesting thing is that no matter how intense the debate and discussion is right now, in another six weeks, the election will be over and only one person will be the winner. And then we will all have to work together again, no matter which candidate wins.

Staggering amounts of money will be spent on advertising to influence us. Some people will study the issues to try and separate the truth from the lies, some people are party loyalists, some will cast their votes with whimsical abandon. Whichever the case, by mid-November, all of this will be over and we will either be rejoicing or saddened by the outcome. But either way, we will have to get up, go to work, and do the things we ordinarily do to live our lives.

Election years have a strange energy because for most of the year we are bombarded with campaign coverage, although most of it is just noise. Those of us who know who we will vote for will cast our vote accordingly no matter what is broadcast, sent to our computers, or sent in the mail.

For those who are genuinely undecided, there are still issues and personalities to sort through. Everything is is secondary to campaign coverage right now, and other things are happening beneath the surface, but within a mere six weeks, all the campaign coverage will be really old news, and everything else will rise again to the top.

How quickly priorities will shift in a very short time, and our attention will be refocused again.