Even at the ripe age of 7, my grandson Brandon is proving to be quite perceptive.

    “Do you know about love?” he wrote in a letter to his mom, Sharla. “I do. Love is the most powerful thing in the world. More people like love than hatred in the world.”

    Naturally, being a doting grandpa, my heart just melted when I read this. But it also caused me to think a little.

    I’m not going all John Lennon on the political process here — “All you need is love,” and all that — but it sure seems a lot of people are letting their animosity toward political figures overcome their common sense.

    Throughout the recent elections, the candidates tossed a lot of mud about, but those who comment on various political blogs threw even more, and it wasn’t necessarily mud. Their vitriolic poison was, if I may use an overused word, shocking.

    Someone identified as “Lucas” on “The Real McCain” blog said “stupid, retarded American’s voted for Obama,” claiming the president-elect only wanted to raise taxes and kill the unborn.
    Not to be outdone, a pro-Obama blogger named “K” claimed Sen. John McCain would have “driven this country straight into the ground,” adding Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was, “the most obnoxious person I have ever seen.”

    And is their ilk, radio and TV hosts have hammered both sides. Liberal Keith Olbermann accused President George W. Bush of “panoramic and murderous deceit” in just about every aspect of his administration, while ditto-master Rush Limbaugh refers to President-elect Barack Obama as a “Chicago thug.”

    Some even feel the Illinois lottery, which drew “666” as a winning number the day after Obama’s election, is a portent of dark things to come.

    It kind of makes being called a “socialist” or “erratic” pretty mild by comparison.

    Abraham Lincoln had it right when he said “A house divided against itself cannot stand,” and I’m afraid he’d be shaking his head at some of the foolishness pervading American political thought these days.

    Perhaps we could use a little wisdom from a 7-year-old.

*****

    Thought for the day: Whoever goes around thinking “My vote won’t make a difference,” needs to have a chat with Pam Thornburg or Trey Paradee.
 

Email Jeff Brown at jeff.brown@doverpost.com.