It’s been so, so stupid in political La-La Land of late. Bad stupid! One might have thought we’d enjoy a reprieve after the presidential elections. But, no. And there’s just so much stupidity one can tolerate. I’m at capacity. Maybe worse. Beyond the point of satiety, my dear, darling father might have said. When he was above ground, routinely forming complex sentences with multisyllabic words. And gently chuckling at the world’s idiots.

But I’m not laughing. That’s for sure. Not that I haven’t tried.

This election is one of these moments in time when you have to look yourself in the mirror and ask the reflection you see just what it is you believe in.

You have to ask yourself if you want to keep perpetuating the anger and hate and blame and bigotry and homophobia, or do you want to rise above that and vote for acceptance and tolerance and citizenship.

CHARLOTTE, NC — In uncompromising honesty — tinged with personal emotion and a great deal of passion — the two major speeches of the opening night of the 2012 Democratic Convention appeared to have electrified both convention goers as well as millions watching on live broadcasts.

San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro’s keynote speech to the packed audience at the Time Warner Center in Charlotte, N.C., sent a direct message to voters: “Mitt Romney, quite simply, doesn’t get it.”

Recently, my daughter and I were out of the country for a month, affording her the pleasure of recovering from heartsickness in a foreign land, with muchos hombres muy guapos, and me, the opportunity to reflect on my homeland from afar.

Kate found the joy of traveling young in Europe, and I found that the United States is no better or worse than any other country. It just happens to be mine.