This is a well written article. Something worth thinking about. I'm sure we want get that many responses to this article. That is just the way it is in this world.
Hold your fire, folks. Day is done. The smoke over the battlefield is clearing. Peace is at hand. Before long, we will have a new president, senators, representatives and various state and local officials.
Praise the Lord and pass the bandages.
In the Gettysburg of 2008, we already have more bloody losers than we can count. Some of them are us. Tuesday is simply a formality to declare the winners.
We're all bruised and battered. The conflict was relentless; the casualties overwhelming.
We are drained from enduring too many candidates, too many primaries and too many debates. Conventions, rallies, interviews, polls, profiles, infomercials, endorsements and photo ops. Change and the status quo. In their aftermath, voting and absentee voting and early voting.
Our ears still roar from the accusations, the name-calling, the allegations, the denials. The 24-hour coverage has dimmed our eyes. The lies have jeopardized our faith in the system.
Will the winners and losers wake up Wednesday morning and go on with lives like professional wrestlers after a match? Can they pretend they never said such vile things to and about each other? Will they forget what their rivals said to and about them?
More important, what will the voters do? Can we forgive the people we picked to lead us? Should we try? Will next time be even worse?
It's our duty, I suppose, to enforce the peace by holding the winners to their campaign promises -- no matter how arduously they will try to distract us.
We also must monitor the losers so that they -- and we -- get behind the victors to bring some sort of unity to the nation; after a civil war, we must all wear the same uniform again.
We have to beat our swords into plowshares. We can start by yanking those political party signs from our yards. We must no longer fear the robotic campaign messages from our phones. For better or worse, we will return our evenings to normal programming.
And not a moment too soon.
MOORE WORDS: No matter how maddening an election sometimes is, it comes from noble beginnings. The word "elect" has a long, bountiful history in our language.
"Elect" has been with us since at least the 13th century, coming from a Latin stem, eligere , which meant "to pick out, gather (fruit) or select."
According to various dictionaries, "elect" also dealt with reading and speaking, so we ended up with "legible," "lesson" and "lecture."
"Elect" begat "select" and "collect" and "neglect." Another offspring was "eligible" (fit to be chosen). In the 18th century, "elite" grew from the same root; after all, the elite are those who are chosen.
From "elect" we inherited "elective," "electorate" and "electoral college." Less obvious, though, are "logic," "legume," "leech" and even "negligee."
A handy word, election.
Reach Glynn Moore at (706) 823-3419 or glynn.moore@augustachronicle.com.
Comments
This is a well written article. Something worth thinking about. I'm sure we want get that many responses to this article. That is just the way it is in this world.
Thank you Mr. Moore for writing this. One can only hope the rest of the online readers will stop in, read what you've written and realize we all need to work together to make this country work, regardless of who is elected. Haddock - don't just sit back and talk about things being the way they are - make a difference and try to work with others in a way that makes them want to pay it forward. You just may be cheerfully surprised and find all is not permanently lost.
Notice how no one posted their opinions here........thanks for the article Mr. Moore.......people would rather complain than actually try to accomplish something good and positive.
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