respect...or lack thereof

tonight is the last presidential debate before our election.

i have to admit, i have not watched one of the debates yet.

#1 - i don't see myself as an undecided voter and

#2 - i don't find myself in front of the television most evenings.

but, i do see the backlash from everyone else who watches.

my phone blows up with name calling directed at the different candidates.

it is frustrating to me that our society craves and demonstrates this kind of disrespect.

i think it was best said by our pastor a few sundays ago when he encouraged us to vote for the "what" and not the "who" because the "what" is the thing that really matters and the "who" is here today and gone tomorrow.

i think people have lost their focus. we have programs on tv that make

tons of money criticizing and yelling at one another and these are grown adults that, in my opinion, know better. we are setting terrible examples to the younger generations. we are saying, "it's okay to be disrespectful to people all for the sake of politics." 

i know conservative republicans who tear apart our president because they don't agree with his agenda, forgetting that he has an office of respect. these same people who promote romney's campaign today ate him alive just 4 short years ago.

you have democrats poking fun at romney and making fun of his every move. hateful things have been thrown his way all to try and persuade voters to like their guy more.

even the leaders themselves go at it only putting more fuel to an already huge fire.

when did this become acceptable? what kind of society are we today?

i remember watching the news when every side got a chance to be heard.

people were more respectful and sounded much more intelligent than they do today.

my husband and i do not promote this type of behavior and try our best to be the better example for our children. we teach them that they are to respect those in authority. we can't just lash out people because we don't agree with them. i thought we learned this already in kindergarten. we should honor and respect our teachers, our bosses, our parents, and everyone else around us. when children show respect, it is a sign of maturity. what happened to the adults? did they somehow lose their way?

i understand people are passionate about their beliefs, but at what cost?

as a christian, it is humiliating to have hateful words spewing out of my mouth

towards another individual. it reveals a heart full of hate.

i would just encourage everyone tonight to lead by example.

focus on the "what" and not the "who" if you really want to make an impact.

but most of all, go out and vote!!! let that be your voice.

don't complain about anything if you don't do your part to contribute

and then leave it there at the poll.

"if i speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, i am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal." 1 corinthians 13:1