It would never occur to me to destroy another person’s property. It would never cross my mind, no matter how much I might disagree with their politics or the candidate of their choice, to violate their private property, to step into their yard, and to physically destroy something that belonged to them. And it wasn’t even just an attack against my property. It was an attack against me personally, against my public statement about who I am in the world. Was it rage? A deliberate violence by someone who hates Democrats, Barack Obama, the policies the man and his party stand for, and, indeed, hates me because I support those policies? Or was it just some random prank, some teenaged dare without any thought to political message and without any intent to intimidate?

I have a 7-year-old nephew who from the backseat of his parents’ car happened to see the damage earlier that day. He told his mother he wanted to hurt the people who had ruined our sign. Of course, that led to a conversation about how that wasn’t the proper response. That’s children for you, though, rushing in with the immediate emotional response. Or is it just children? I’ve been thinking about it all day.

As anyone reading my convention blogs will know, a passion of mine during the convention was the sincere effort to find “common ground for the common good”. This was not just an effort on my part as I struggled against the “tyranny of the majority” in preparation for the convention. It was not merely the theme articulated at the faith caucus by fellow delegates for whom the connection of faith and politics is central. It permeated the convention. It was present as Clinton and Obama delegates put aside the competition and disappointments of the caucus/primary season and bonded together for the general election. It was present as delegates from around the country eagerly chatted together about issues important to their individual states. It was present as long time party activists joined with those newly inspired to action. It was present as former Republicans admitted having newly joined the party in a search for common ground on issues of importance. It was present in the dozens of speeches that gave way to sincere applause as Sen. McCain was commended for his military and public service and recognized for his heroism, his courage.

But I return home to a mutilated sign, intimidation whether it was intended or not. I return home to a news media electrified by the nomination of Gov. Sarah Palin. And, already, the shadows on Plato’s cave have mesmerized people who just might have been ready to turn their heads toward the sunlight and see the real rather than the manipulated. We’re no different from my 7 year old nephew. We all rush to the ready response, the division, the impulse to rage. The Republican response to the excitement of the Democratic National Convention (and its 38 million television viewers) was to drop a politically expedient bombshell. The shouting between those on the extremes has already started. And so we go, not toward a public policy that seeks common ground for the common good. But toward the antagonistic, cynical, spectacle our voyeuristic America claims it does not want, but that it eats up like free candy.