June 5th 2012 - Recall Day in Wisconsin

     It's 8:30 on election day for the Gubernatorial recall. I've not watched news coverage, and don't know who's polling ahead, and if anyone has projected a winner I don't know.
     It's been quite a time here in Cheeselandistan since the Budget Repair Bill saga of last winter. Political, and partisan passions have been pretty intense since then. Just looking at that, and it looks like an understatement. Anyone who's posted a comment on a news service message board, blog, Facebook can attest to that intensity.
     As I watch the Brewers play the Cubs here I about how the game of baseball is called the "National Pastime." Seems the State pastime these past 15 months has been soapboxing our political opinions in any way available. There has been much said by friends, acquaintances, and strangers today about looking forward to the end of the campaign, and the ads, and the phone calls. Really? I hope so, but I'm a little less optimistic. Realistically we're looking at a neck and neck election, so whoever wins the tonight it's not "over." Dollars to doughnuts there's a recount - automatic or otherwise. You can also bet that if there's a recount the postings, and partisan noise will continue through that. That's been the Wisconsin pastime since Act 10. At the end of the day it's a good thing to have an opinion, and it's a good thing to express it, but that reminds me of something my father the sailor said. "Opinions are like assholes; everyone has one, and nobody thinks their own stinks." 
     There are things we know because we observe them, and there are things that are a result of deeply held beliefs. Some of them we will see something that changes our mind, and others we will never recant. Knowing that this is not over means that more of us will share our perspectives passionately. Mark Twain once said “The easy confidence with which I know another man's religion is folly teaches me to suspect that my own is also.” That's a really nice way to state another thing my Dad said: "You're as full of shit as anyone else." Remember that the next time you read something one of your friends says, or some stranger has posted on a message board, or news comment board. Before you satisfy that personal need to "put them in their place," remember you're as full of shit as they are. You just aren't aware of it. Maybe with that realization a basic amount of respect for another persons' attachment to their own convictions will lead to a respectful exchange of ideas, mutual respect, and maybe an appreciation that we're all in this together. Maybe then the partisan divide that seems so vast might reveal itself to be closer than it looks.
     It's 9:15 now, and the Cubs are killing the Brewers. At least we can all get behind how sucky that is. (except for those jackass Cub fans)