13 more grueling months to go!!!!!!!

I think the first column I wrote some 30 years ago had to do with politics....I was trying to be funny and say that I was suspicious of North Dakota since I had read an advertisement for someone to be a Senator in North Dakota. My premise was simple, I had never heard of any senators or politicians actually from North Dakota and perhaps it was just a political prison or used for some other nefarious reasons. This was, of course, tongue in cheek type of humor....I was not being serious, just writing a story.

But, fast forward to this day and time....here we are 13 months of political campaigning for the next President of these United States of America. Heaven help us all.

In the 1940's when I was a kid....we got our news mainly in about 4 major ways...radio, newspapers, magazines (Saturday Evening Post, Life) and the news reels at the movies. Obviously I didn't pay that much attention to who was running for political offices when I was 10 or 12 years old....my biggest problems were enough movie to go to the movies and how to keep my bike tires pumped up. Harry Truman was some old codger off in Washington...a thousand miles away.

But it's different today, isn't it?

We have 300+ channels on our televisions, 275 of which we never have watched. We have the internet on our computers, we have local and satellite radio, we have cellphones and we still have newspapers and magazines.

In short we have too much.

In our overly sensitive politically correct country at this time, anyone, politician or not can make a comment about anything and it will hit the news around the globe within 10 minutes. Tell some lady that you think her dress is pretty...BAM! you're sexist....Talk about racial issues (either side...makes no difference) and BAM!!!...you are a racist. Talk about poverty and changes needed for our kid's education and  BAM!!! you are a liberal....mention, just mention hunting, guns, police lives matter and you are branded a right winged red neck.....How can you win?

How can anyone win....how can anyone try to get elected who will look out for the best interests of us all? How can we draw conclusions about the people trying to lead our country when we get 30 second sound bites and biased reporting from all of the media about these candidates?

I am not so concerned over what someone called their 4th grade teacher or their position on gun control when their comments were mad 35 or 40 years ago.  People can change their points of view...people SHOULD change their points of view.

As I said, when I was 10 or 12, my scope of knowledge was very narrow...but as I grew up and obtained more information, I was able to modify my viewpoint and see someone elses side of the issue.

I would hope those running for the highest office in our land could do the same....13 more months of loud, shrill voices day after day forced upon us by a multitude of media sources is way more than I care to contend with....