No matter your political views , get out and vote

Hate may be defined as an intense or passionate dislike for someone or something. Similar words are loathe, despise, abhor, detest and contempt.

When children use these words, it may not be too serious until they become armed and take out their rage on others. The same behavior by adults has the same terrible results, with often greater loss of life or injury because the weapons are more readily available.

After months of political advertising that focuses on a candidate’s alleged infractions and not on the advertiser’s plan for making the world a better place, we should all be sick of this expensive waste of our time.

I don’t care if a candidate thinks his or her opponent is a bad person. I do care about why the candidate is a good person and being convinced that they deserve my vote. The use of divisive language and images meant to incite should be repudiated by our leaders and shunned at the polls.

If 14 million tweets even marginally use hateful language, a tiny fraction of the readers might be incited to commit or assist in a terrible act. This is an enormous risk not worth taking in this very polarized and dangerous time. Real leaders don’t incite. They help us to understand an issue, come together and find solutions.

The opposite of hate in politics is empathy. It means the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person. Similar words are caring, sympathy and sensitivity. These are not words of cowardice, but of thoughtfulness. These are characteristics that earn my vote.

Restraint before speaking when you are or want to be a leader is very important.

The election is a few days off. It is so important that everyone exercise their right to vote.

Wherever you are on the political spectrum, don’t lose the ability to impact our future through not exercising your responsibility to vote.