I Approve this message!

​I absolutely love this time of year.  I love the cooler temperatures, and the beautiful Fall colors.  I love the fact that football is being played with fervor and passion by kids and adults.  I love the foods that we eat in the Fall.  I love to cook spicy dishes and eat anything that suggests that it’s Fall.
 
One thing that doesn’t get me excited about Fall is what happens every other year.  I’m speaking of the election cycle, and all the nastiness associated with it.  I had forgotten what it is like to live in a media market that crosses state lines.  Here, we have to sit through radio and television ads that attack candidates both in Virginia and in Tennessee. 
 
So, I’ve learned that both candidates for Senate in Tennessee are lying, good-for-nothin’s that should get off the stage.  I’ve learned that candidates to represent us Virginians in the House of Representatives are crooks, thieves, and one even accuses the other of spreading cow manure.
 
Our President is traveling around the country calling everybody names, while our last President is traveling around the country pointing out that our present President might be dishonest.  Fox News says CNN is biased.  CNN says Fox News is not really news at all.  MSNBC shares its insights with all three of its viewers, and the major networks have lost the respect of much of the country.
 
Don’t you miss the good old days when Ronald Reagan and Tip O’Neil fought like cats and dogs and still respected each other?  When Republicans and Democrats alike pushed Richard Nixon out the door, together?  When Senators actually debated issues instead of grandstanding for the cameras?  Our politics have just become too coarse.
 
Here’s my promise to you: I’ll keep my politics to myself, since I love both Democrats and Republicans.  I’ll still respect you, even if we disagree politically.  I’ll be an adult.  The world needs some of those right now.
 
On November 7, we’ll awaken to a new day.  The political ads will be finished.  Everybody will pretend to kiss and make up.  Then, I fear that nothing much will change. So, I think perhaps the song we sing might be a good prayer to offer:
Let there be peace on Earth,
And let it begin with me.
 
I’m Dale Gilbert, and I approved this message.  What we do here matters.