For the past ten years, I've been waiting for politicians and politicalpundits to stop acting like three-year-old protecting a toy in the sandbox.

It hasn't happened.

Yes, I know we're not supposed to talk about politics. Nor are we supposed to talk aboutreligion, but I'm noticing we're talking about both - slyly, for our own agendas - quite a bit

What happened to offering someone the dignity of listening to their opinion without talking over them? WhileI may like my ideas better, they are mine, not yours. And it's relatively rare that I will be able to change anyone's views, whetherit be on something as trivial as cereal brands or as major as the environmental legislation that has stalled in D.C. That's OK as long aswe can recognize a common goal: leaving our country better, stronger and fiscally responsible. I'm not saying we're going to always agree on how to get there.  Hell, my husband and I can't agree to drive on how to a new location (thank you, TomTom, for solving one major marriage hurtle!), but we eventually get there.  Together.  In one piece. 

I am quickly moving from frustration to fear. Our country is polarizing on two opposite ends of the political spectrum; each feels its camp has all the right answers. This is the exact fiasco Abraham Lincoln warned against: "Nearly all men can withstand adversity; If you want to test a man's character, give him power."

But perhaps the most apropos quote is the one by Gore Vidal: "Politics is made up of two words.'Poli' which is Greek for 'many,' and 'tics,' which are bloodsucking insects."