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I've made a conscious effort to steer clear of political posts during this torturous election season. The way I've seen it, you've had enough people and organizations bombarding you with opinions and statistics trying to convince you to vote for one party or another. Just to be clear, I'd never try to sway anyone one way or the other anyway. Personally, I don't care how people vote. I mostly just care that they vote.

I got up yesterday morning and drove to the precinct and cast my vote for the candidates that I believed would do the best an adequate job. Truth is, I was not and am not excited about either of the presidential candidates. Nor was I thrilled about Virginia's senatorial options. But I did the whole pros/cons thing and made an informed decision. Ideally, that's what all Americans should be able to do.

But I did it. I touched the screen, submitted my votes, and walked away feeling free. Okay, that was a little cheesy. I didn't feel any more free than I did before I walked into the voting booth. I actually walked away feeling disappointed. I didn't get a sticker to prove that I had voted. I was worried for the rest of the day that if someone asked if I voted and I said yes, they'd just stare at me with a look of disbelief and ask, "Oh yeah? Where's your sticker?!" I'd be branded a liar until next November. Or May... if something comes up then.

You know what was great, though? Waking up this morning and browsing through so many posts and comments on Facebook and Twitter. It's so great to see that the majority of the country is able to walk away from a hard-fought election like this with a sense of pride and an air of maturity about the whole thing. It's wonderful to know that so many Romney supporters aren't crying in their Cheerios about how Obama is the anti-Christ and we all have to prepare for the end of days. It's also equally great to see Obama supporters taking the high road and not responding to a win with the "Nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah" method of mockery.

Oh, wait... that's not how it's happened at all. I've seen lots of these kinds of comments from both the reds and the blues. It's sad.

The fact of the matter is, no one person can fix what's wrong with our country. No one party can do it either, no matter how many good people make up that party. The only way we can decide to move forward as a nation is if we find some way to work together. We the people cannot allow our petty differences to tear us apart. Are we truly able to sit back and claim that the United States is the greatest nation in the world? As a whole, we're the most selfish group of people on the planet. We're greedy. We're lazy. We're apathetic. Of course that's an extreme generalization. There are a few among us who are willing to do whatever it takes to make this country and our world a better place. But those few must get so frustrated when they look at the big picture.

My political affiliation is irrelevant and, mostly, non-existent. But I feel confident in my belief that both presidential hopefuls have a love for this country. I'm sure there are people who would argue that point, on either side, but you don't run for president without some desire to see the United States succeed. No one ran for president and said, "I'm gonna spend four years putting the country in the crapper."

I have a great deal of respect for both candidates and for their responses to last night's results. I hope that Mr. Obama is willing and able to do what he spelled out in his speech. I hope he's able to reach out to both political parties and build bridges that are all too easily burned. I stand with Mr. Romney when he calls for us to pray for our president as he enters his second term in the White House. And I do pray for Obama, just as I would have prayed for Romney. Being the President of the United States has got to be a difficult job. I'm sure that should go without saying. It's a job that not many people would attempt to apply for.

If your candidate lost, pick yourself up, go about your day, deal with it. If you're unhappy about the way things are working in your government, do something about it. Make your voice heard. That's a part of what makes America great.

If your candidate won, don't be a jerk about it. I get it. I'm a sarcastic person, so it's easy for me to sit back and make fun of situations. But remember that it could have easily gone the other way. Would you want people on Facebook mocking you for backing the wrong guy? Why not dialogue with those people whose faces your rubbing your victory in? Help them to understand why you support the candidate you support.

We're not allowed to vote until we're 18, considered an adult by the government. We should act like adults, win or lose.

To both sides: if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. At least, not on a public forum like Facebook or Twitter. Negative comments about the winner or the loser just make you look petty and pathetic.

That is all.