Why Such Animosity Between Supporters of the Presidential Candidates?

As the Primary season heats up, so do tempers and discussions. The attacks are on TV, radio, and in social media. Friends are being “unfriended” on Facebook, and the Twittersphere is full of angry chirping.
It is not just the candidates on the attack; some supporters of the various candidates are unleashing vitriol at fellow party members who support a different candidate. And it is getting ugly.
Let’s stop a minute to consider what is happening before we destroy each other.
Americans are scared. That is the bottom line. I believe that some, if not most, of the attacks are really miscommunicated fear.
We are afraid for our country. The last seven years have seen an exponential destruction of our freedoms and values like we have never seen before. People are less secure, have less disposable income and more debt, and less liberty than ever before in our lifetime.
We are watching our cherished Constitutional and American values be shredded right before our eyes, with certain destruction to everything we hold dear if we continue on our current trajectory.
The end of Obama’s reign is the carrot dangling in front of us, or the light at the end of the tunnel. If we can just get the right person in the Oval Office, then maybe, just maybe, we can turn this thing around.
Hence, the passion. These candidates have a lot riding on them. Will he or she be able to steer this nation back in the right direction? Whomever that person is that America sends to the White House could send us further down the path of destruction, or may set our feet back on the path to the great calling and purpose that we were founded upon. If we send the wrong person there, could that seal our fate to our utter demise?
These are the questions and thoughts that underlie the passion and rhetoric of our fellow citizens. We understand the gravity of this decision, and we feel we cannot get it wrong.
So the attacks come. I don’t believe that most even recognize the underlying fear that provokes the attacks, but it is there nonetheless. It colors and shapes our political discussions, our Tweets, and our Facebook posts. We are afraid that our friends and fellow Americans will make the wrong choice and that our country will never recover. Because our fear is deep, so is the passion.
We forget that we are all in this together. No matter who the nominee is, our family will still be our family, and our friends will still be our friends, if we have not alienated them in the process.
The next President will change the landscape of our country, for good or ill, or a combination thereof. But the next President is not our country. We are still “The People.” There is still Congress, the Supreme Court, and the state governments.
Ultimately, it comes down to this: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” – II Chronicles 7:14
The person we send to the White House does not carry as much weight as the One who is on the throne. Our fear of sending the wrong person to Washington must not cause us to destroy each other in the process. That won’t help anybody.
Campaign. Debate ideas. Pray. Fast. Vote. Then let’s work together to restore our country to the greatness that we are capable of. Don’t let fear of the future allow us to destroy ourselves from within. We can do better than that.