Tired of Hyperbole

Just days before the election, there is one thing American’s can agree upon.  We are tired of hyperbole.  An odd quirk of the American system is that freedom of speech is taken to its extreme.  There is no statement too extreme, no expectation of truth, no tangible expressions of what the voter can expect.

No, it is up to the voters to inform themselves.  Fact checking services are offered by everyone, including traditional news services, the candidates themselves, and several internet services both political and non-political.

Political shorthand puts us into two categories:  Liberal and Conservative, the left and the right.

So what is at the heart of this divide?

Americans want a government that is working for the people.  Some members of the Republican congress are promising to stall any Supreme Court appointments until after the next election cycle in another four years.  Some congressmen are considering impeachment before the election has been completed.  Wouldn’t these actions invalidate the votes for the elected candidate?

Americans want fair healthcare, but we are divided on how that should be accomplished.  What is now called Obama Care, was a compromise healthcare solution.  It provides health coverage for many who didn’t have health care coverage.  It may have been possible to do healthcare reform in other ways, but it wasn’t done.  Many people feel national health care (liberal) is the solution, while others (conservative) sincerely believe a free insurance market  is the right way to go.

Americans want jobs which are linked with trade, energy, and the environment.  Fair trade provides a competitive trade environment (conservative), but could mean increased prices for goods that are now very inexpensive (liberal).  Environmental regulation (liberal) is costly to business.  Clean energy means coal is being squeezed out.  If coal is your major industry, regulation and alternative energy hurts current jobs. To increase job growth, decrease regulation and restrictions on business (conservative).

Americans want security.  We are tired of people who hate us using our openness to attack us.  Americans want to defend themselves by keeping criminals out, by keeping those who hate us out (conservative).  Others want to make friends with the world, protect and welcome people from around the world (liberal).

The number one thing Americans want is for the election to be completed.  We want our elected representatives to get together and create an approach which will benefit us, as statesmen and not a political agenda.