Did anybody sleep well last night?

There was a distinctly different mood all day yesterday, Election Day.

The anticipation had been building for not months, but years. Co-workers seemed quieter and to themselves. People at the grocery store seemed to be unwilling to make too much eye contact. Many people skipped the usual dinner and resigned to call for some takeout and nervously eat or drink themselves into a frenzy.

There will be a lot of upset stomachs and more than a few hangovers today. Some of those hangovers may last four years.

In the last 15 years or so, politics have become more and more polarizing. Is it competing cable news networks, each carving out their own niche and niche audience, pitting one side against the other? No, they've been around for decades. It's when social media turned everyone into an expert political pundit that turned the heat up on our political discourse. Instant opinions, instant information, tailored information on your news feed. When I was growing up, young people rarely talked politics or even thought about it. Today it's become like sports. You pick your team, and you cheer them on no matter how much they suck or who they oppose.

Precious little thought is put into the actual policies and their effect on peoples' lives outside of a few hot button issues like abortion and gun control. And even then, there's little rational processing of the information and just more raw emotional reaction according to whatever side you're on. There's little reasonable discourse and more name calling and dismissal of the other side as idiots or worse.

Will things get better with a new administration or renewed administration? Doubtful. But maybe we can pause a moment and try to see things from the other side. OK, maybe just take the acrimony and distaste down a notch. Please?

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy. Any opinions expressed are Dennis' own.