The coming election

What concerns me most about the coming November election is that both sides, if we must assume there are only two--either Democratic vs. Republican or Right Wing vs. Left Wing or whatever--seem to be predicting the same thing.

That is, both sides seem to be thinking and then saying aloud or writing publicly (on Facebook or their blog or as a comment somewhere out on the internet) that if the opponent's leader is elected (Romney or Obama), that it's somehow "the end" or that they'll leave the country or we've lost all hope or some such.

It reminds me of the quote from the movie, "The Big Chill" at the beginning, at the recently-deceased character, Alex's, funeral when the minister asks "Where did our hope go?"

Why are so many of us expecting an apocalypse?

Can we not have hope?

Can't we see any way forward?

Is that no longer possible?

Isn't this America? Are we not Americans? Can we not work together? Can we not address and solve our problems? Together?

It needn't be the end of the world as we know it.

Not unless we give up and give in, anyway.

I don't think so, for what it's worth.