The RNC and DNC presented two versions of America the past two weeks. Both conventions illustrated what each side considered the positive nature of their vision. Both sides ridiculed the other side, presenting the opposite vision as weak, naïve and as a failed version of the American dream. Both sides gave us hope, or at least their vision of hope.

It was interesting to watch convention coverage between Fox News and MSNBC. Both networks let their partisan flags fly. To listen to each cover the conventions you would have to wonder if each were in the same place watching the same event. The conventions were the height of partisanship, both from the parties themselves and the two cable giants that covered them.

Radio pundits from both sides of the political spectrum didn’t bother being objective. They were cheerleaders for their side and hate mongers for the other side. Again if you were to compare coverage you would be confused at the non-objective look at both conventions.

Many years ago, in the brilliant science fiction series Babylon 5, writer J Michael Straczynski explained the old races of the Shadows and Vorlons in a way that sounds a lot like the two political parties. The Vorlons wanted to shepherd the new races, protect them from harm and if that meant manipulating them so they ‘did the right thing’ then what was the harm? The Shadows wanted conflict, feeling that only the strong should survive. Those races that couldn’t keep up had to be left behind because they could never survive without help.

There was never any compromise between the Vorlons and the Shadows. Each side was convinced they were right and the other was wrong. In trying to prove their point, many lives were lost. The conventions took the candidates and propped them up with a background of Americana, the flag and apple pie. We are supposed to make a choice between two distinctly different ideologies that don’t allow for compromise. I think many independents and some party faithful are like me. I don’t see life as black or white. Life is too complicated to put absolute blinders on. People spend their time at a convention fighting over language that is put into a platform, yet the respective leaders of the parties aren’t bound by it. Instead of spending time convincing us of why their side is correct, the focus is on how much the candidate can trash talk the other side.

I walked away from watching both conventions drained and tired. Emotionally I was spent because I didn’t learn anything about either side. I learned how bad the other side would be for our future. Both sides have interesting views of the future of the country, but neither has the ultimate key to that future. What will ultimately happen is we will listen to pundits in forming our opinion. We won’t come about the decision on our own. Rush, Rachel, Bill, Lawrence and the rest of the talking heads will be there all hours of the day and night trying to convince us who has our best interest in hand, and that’s kind of the problem when you think about it. As much as we want to think of ourselves as independent people in a free land, ultimately someone will have to govern. Whoever is elected will appoint people that will administer policies based on the principles of the platforms given at the convention. The candidates may say now they won’t be influenced by it, but it’s the political parties with their high roller backers with money who got them elected. It will be those same people who will give them the money to keep them elected.

Those are the people pulling the strings and setting the agenda. The best advice I can give would be to examine the platform of each party and use that as a guide for the election. That platform is the blueprint of our future. They map out the result of our choices in November.