In this season of gratitude, I’d like to thank the candidates.
It isn’t easy to run for office, especially in today’s contentious environment.
You collect your signatures, assemble your platform and put yourself out there in a world that sometimes squints as hard as it can to see the worst in you.
Still, you campaign because you believe in your cause and your ability to defend it. You make the speeches, shake the hands, answer the questions, debate the topic, sip the terrible coffee, drive the endless miles, and smile for the camera so often your cheek muscles throb.
You design campaign literature almost no one reads. You knock on doors few will open. You pound yard signs into unyielding ground.
Maybe you read the comments on social media, and maybe you don’t. That can be a demoralizing minefield of nastiness best to avoid.
If you’ve ever taken a bad picture – maybe your chin tilts down so it appears to be double, or your eyes close just before the camera’s shutter, or you frown unintentionally because you’re thinking of something else, or you laugh too wildly because you’re overtired and punchy — that’s the picture that will show up, grainy and unflattering, in ads opposing your candidacy.
You soldier on.
The soles of your shoes wear thin, the seams of your very best shirts start to strain.
Election Day dawns early for you, maybe you squeeze in some extra campaigning, maybe you dash to the polls.
Hopefully, you feel a well-earned sense of pride when you see your name in that ballot and cast a vote for the person it represents.
Then you wait, on one of the longest, most nerve-wracking days of your life.
Whether you won or not, your efforts supported this glorious (though imperfect) system of government we call a democracy.
So, on this morning after, I just want to say thanks.
