Lisa's Laws: A hotly contested election, a friendly polling location

I figure that on Wednesday morning, just about everyone in the United States woke up convinced that about half of their fellow citizens are completely out of their minds.

It was, after all, really pretty close, at least it was looking that way. Close enough that Tuesday night, as the results rolled in and states were moved into the red column or the blue, one was likely to feel pretty good one moment, then kinda panicked the next and constantly wondering how the other guy could have gotten so many votes. The only explanation, it seems, is that 48 percent, or maybe 51 percent or 49 percent, depending on your perspective and favorite cable news channel, of voters are nuts.

What else could explain it? I mean, how could any sane person vote for a socialist/misogynist who only cares about welfare moms/the wealthy and who won't even show anybody his birth certificate/taxes? Besides, there's a rumor that his wife wears wigs/magic underwear.

Such was the tone as Election Day neared, as the television ads got more negative and the Facebook postings became more shrill. And although the precise path to economic, social and environmental destruction varied slightly, the message from each camp was pretty much this: If the other guy wins the country will go, as my mother would say, to hell in a very fast fish cart.

I should take a quick moment here to explain that my mom is a brilliant and funny and interesting woman. But she has a tendency to get her metaphors mashed together. However, I've never been able to figure out what two, or may three, metaphors she's mashing with the fish cart. But it's one of her favorites and it is, certainly very illustrative of a very, very uncomfortable journey to an awful destination and a trip anyone would want to avoid.

All that aside, we spent the election season convincing ourselves that there couldn't possibly be enough out-of-their-mind voters to elect the guy that we ourselves weren't voting for. And, in the nearly impossible event that the fast-fish-cart-driving candidate did win, we made backup plans: A four-year move to the U.K., or Canada, or maybe Sweden if they speak English over there. Kinda crazy, right?

But I spent the better part of Election Day close to home, working at a polling location in Summitville. It was one of the busiest days ever, and hundreds of people showed up to cast their ballots. At the end of the day each presidential candidate got a solid share of the votes — not Florida close, but pretty close. All day long, Obama people converged with Romney people, a dynamic that, if cable news and social media are to be believed, would result in a very unpleasant atmosphere.

Instead, it was actually really nice. Folks filed in all day, greeting neighbors, checking in with one another to see who had their power back and chatting about Halloween, all the trees felled by Sandy, when we'd get our first big snow. The mood was friendly and respectful, and, with the possible exception of my daughter, Bella, who temporarily lost her mind when she noticed a platter of chocolate cookies, nobody got Facebook shrill or cable news nutty. They cast their ballots, exercising one of our most sacred and valued rights. And, if my neighbors are any indication, and I believe they are, the fish cart will be staying in the garage.

Reader Reaction
We reserve the right to remove any content at any time from this Community, including without limitation. Please check our Community Rules for more information. We ask that you report content that you in good faith believe violates the above rules by clicking the Flag link next to the offending comment or fill out this form. New comments are only accepted for two weeks from the date of publication.