For all of you out there who insist on political name calling....

My mom voted for Bush. My mom is not stupid, my mom is not a sheep. My mom is definitely not evil. Neither are my sisters who also voted for Bush. My mom has real concerns about the country. She has not had people to talk to her who would listen to her concerns and point out how, for the most part, GWB is making things worse, not better. She has not had people who would discuss the facts with her without spinning them. She has heard name-calling and mudslinging -- and you know what? Our side may have been more sophisticated and nuanced in the way we went about name-calling, but we did it just the same.

We did not listen. More importantly, we did not listen respectfully, trying to understand. Winning arguments is not the same as changing minds -- and for too many of us, winning the arguments became too important. Before anyone accuses me of hypocrisy, I fully admit my own tendencies in this regard. Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.

My mom would not describe anyone who voted for Kerry as "evil" just because they did so. She has a charitable and giving spirit which recognizes that people can have differences of opinion even on very serious matters. That people can even believe things that are "wrong" (in her eyes or ours) and still be worthwhile human beings. She has the humility to recognize that she doesn't have all the answers -- which is more than I can say for some of you.

I am disabling comments on this post because I have no intention in getting into a discussion with any of you about how wrong I am.