We All Lose

The tenor of this presidential campaign cycle has become tiresome.  Social media has raised the intensity, ferocity, and intimacy of the attacks made by both candidates against the other.  Sound bytes are edited to elevate bias in both directions.  The focus s is more a marketing coup than a presidential contest. Honestly,  I don't think I can watch and listen to this until November.  I am disgusted.

As a teacher, I look into the faces of our future each day. How do I explain  this exhibition to my students?

"Well kids, I know we spend lots of time in school teaching you about the ills of  bullying your classmates and inappropriate use of social media...BUT, what adults do is really different.  We HAVE to do that stuff!"

"Really?",  the students ask.  Yeah, no.

This is embarrassing.  It is a mess.  Trying to manage the emotional responses of the voting populace through social media is not only unseemly, it is frightening.  Last night, at dinner with friends. I polled the wait staff regarding their favorite candidate.  The barkeep wants the independent, Johnson, while others were swayed toward Trump.  Clinton is very unpopular...at least at Scotty's Brewpub.

What is consistent among those I polled is the strength of  their emotional response.  Politics has always been a tender subject, but as our candidates deride one another in their quest for the White House, we are all affected.  No matter who wins.  We all lose.