I wrote part of this column on Friday, Nov. 1, and part of it on Monday, Nov. 4. But, just stick with me and pretend for a moment that I wrote this today. OK?
It is Wednesday, Nov. 6, and that means the election is over and done with.
Are all controversies related to election season over and done with? Certainly not. Has all of the rhetoric around the races from both sides of the aisle vanished into thin air? It hasn't. Has everyone shut up on Facebook and returned to a source of meaning in their lives that is deeper than politics? I really, really doubt it.
But, at least the commercials, text messages, emails, unskippable YouTube ads, etc., have ceased. And of course, I have to cover the local aspects of the race. I don't think anyone who ran in Harrison County this year is evil, I can tell you that, but there are definitely people who head to the ballot box who scale things up a bit too much, in my personal opinion. It is important! Just please don't make it the sun that your life revolves around.
I have my own political opinions. I don't share them in the newspaper, and I try not to share them at all except for with people closest to me. I don't know if that's scandalous for some of you to hear, but journalists do have their own opinions. The hope is that they're good at not letting their respective opinions cloud their writing. I hope that I did a good job providing election information to you all without any kind of slant or angle. I just want to get the story written and move on with my life when it comes to politics, if I'm being completely honest with you.
I also agree with many people I know that the national media can really suck. I promise that I'm just a local guy trying to make a living and do a good job. I don't even have time for agendas – I just want to do my job and spend time with my wife. So I hope when you think of the Missouri Valley Times-News, you simply think of your local newspaper and not some corrupt outlet trying to sway people one way or the other. If you do think that, I would simply tell you you're wrong. Still, point out to me the instance where you think it happened. Maybe we can do better.
I say all of this to preface the actual point of this column, so this is the part where I go in an entirely different direction.
This past weekend, I knew I needed some time away before the election. My solution to that was to go and stay at a monastery.
I am an Orthodox Christian. I attend St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church in Omaha. Maybe you've been to the Greek festival there before; if you haven't you can come visit me next August. Anyway, I don't really look like it personally, but my family comes from Greece. If you want to know more about what Orthodox Christianity is, you can look it up or ask me about it. I'm not going to use this space to evangelize.
Friday evening, myself and four other guys from my parish loaded up the car and headed to Holy Archangel Michael and All Angels Skete in Weatherby, Mo. There are several monks and nuns there who live on 80 acres of serene land.
I spent my time there praying, attending services, reading spiritually edifying materials, practicing fellowship with others who were staying there, going on walks through the woods and much more. What I can tell you is this: I only checked my phone at the end of each night, had no idea what was going on in the outside world and didn't know the latest political news that had everyone yapping on Facebook. And believe it or not, my life was a lot better!
If I wrote about every single thing I experienced at the monastery it would fill the paper. I will just say this: if everyone lived the way they do in those communities the world would be a much better place. Constantly asking forgiveness, practicing love for one another, not allowing anything to make one too upset or disturbed and, most importantly, staying connected to our Creator.
Although I'm back in the world and back to covering politics, I hope to keep a piece of what I experienced there with me at all times. And with that, I ask everyone's forgiveness as the election comes to a close and we move forward together.
