It’s no big secret that Democrats and Republicans don’t see eye to eye on some very important issues that affect the future of our country. Politics in these United States draws attention from all over the world because we are a leading power, we have exciting (controversial) elections, and our two-party system affords a clearer picture of what each party intends to do if elected.

You got your MAGA Republicans versus your WOKE Democrats, and the two don’t have much in common other than their contempt for the other side.

The midterm election is over and the candidates now have to figure out what to do with the rest of the money they have built up in their individual “war chests” and how best to divest their wins or losses out over the electorate. That’s no easy feat when you live in the land of billion-dollar campaigns.

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Seriously, one estimate puts the total expected fundraising for political candidates in this midterm cycle at somewhere between $8 billion and $16 billion — yes, billion with a B!

So, as mere citizens living in the fashionable hinterland of Craig, (seriously, we are on the map) it is incumbent upon us to try to understand the complexities of our electoral process — NOT! So far as we can determine, politics has become a business model for citizens who have the courage (or is it self-delusion) to put their name in the hat for a potential office in Denver or Washington, D.C.

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They yell, scream, insult, hurl and do their best to expose their opponent as a woke, anti-American, gender-confused liberal or a goose-stepping, Trump-loving conservative. Each will doom America to either a communist hellhole or a fascist dictatorship.

Both seem to be far away from where most of us really want to be as a country of hard-working (mostly), God-fearing (some), voters (hopefully) who just want to be able to buy some groceries without breaking the bank, maybe purchase an upgraded vehicle without taking out a six-year loan, or go on a vacation without feeling like we are permanently damaging the planet. Politicians are really good at making all of us feel like we’re at fault for the things they have no problem doing because it’s for the “greater good.”

A really smart person (way brighter than I could ever hope to be) has said that politics no longer attracts our best or brightest (definitely not self-aware). That might be accurate, but most politicians sure are motivated and most lack any sense of humiliation for saying things that they know aren’t true or do things that they think will help get them elected.

Another smart person has said that all politics is local, and while you might think your vote matters little, most elections are so close these days that whatever color you decide reflects your values, you should be proud to live in a country that gives you the opportunity to exercise your voice and will count your vote (yes, lots of counting).

Hopefully, it won’t take weeks or months to figure out who won.