Merry election season, “Creightonian” reader. You have to love this time of year, especially if you write for the opinion section. So many talking points to rant about, so little time.

The latest has come from the Romney campaign. If you haven’t seen it, video surfaced last week at a private campaign fundraiser where Mr. Romney was a little more candid than his usual, robotic self. In it, he states that 47 percent of this country is “dependent on government,” and “believes that they are victims.”

Mr. Romney goes on to say that “my job is not to worry about those people” and “I’ll never teach them to take responsibility for their lives.”

That last bit is a little over the top. To suggest that the 47 percent of staunch Obama supporters do not take responsibility for their lives deserves some criticism. But judging by the left’s reaction, you’d think Romney said that he likes to eat babies.

The quotes have been taken out of context. Again, when he says that it’s “not my job to worry about these people,” he was talking about the people he needs to appeal to in order to beat Obama in November. He was referring to the 47 percent of people in this country that are not going to be swayed to vote for him, no matter what.

These people are a lost cause for his campaign, not for him and his policy in general. He was talking to a group of people that has contributed a lot of money to his campaign, and was referring to the strategy he needs to take to win said campaign. Granted, he didn’t say this in the most diplomatic of ways, but that was his intent none-the-less.

That doesn’t matter for Democrats though. The quotes are just too good to not twist to their advantage. The Obama campaign has since accused Romney of “writing off big chunks of the country” and furthering its agenda that “favors the rich.”

Or, as my hyper-partisan-liberal mom said the other night at dinner, “He thinks 47 percent of the country doesn’t matter Adam!” She proceeded to grumble about Swiss bank accounts and silver spoons.

Here we are again, folks. “All lies and jests, still the man hears what he wants to hear, then disregards the rest. Do-Da-Do-Da-Do.”

If there’s one thing the Romney video has once again reinforced, it’s that hyper- partisanship idiocy is still alive and thriving in the United States. In a time when we’re facing monumental challenges, all the American people want to do is look for easy answers and someone to blame.

Liberals prefer to blame greedy Wall Street fat cats, corporate political influence and, above all, Republicans. Conservatives prefer blaming ignorant socialist hippies, lazy government dependents and, above all, Democrats.

“I want to see his birth certificate,” screams the right. “Yeah, well I want to see his tax returns,” screams the left.

So goes the rounds and rounds of hyper- partisanship idiocy that have brought the American political process to a standstill the past four years.

I’m here to rant, but I’m equally here to ask for reason, which I realize is more than likely an exercise in futility in our current social state.

Stop worrying about stupid, inconsequential, ad hominem accusations. That goes for both sides. Stop trying to find a scapegoat. Stop trying to look for easy answers.

If we want a scapegoat, we need look no further than ourselves.

All liberal conspiracy theories about the Citizens United decision and unlimited corporate campaign contributions aside, we still live in a democracy — by the people, for the people, of the people. Call me naïve, but in a democracy, a government is a reflection of its people.

We, the people our government reflects, are hyper-partisan fools. Ipso facto, so is our government.

So we’re not really facing a crisis of government, as many like to think. We’re facing a crisis of culture. Look no further than the Romney videos and their backlash for evidence.

The problems we’re facing are extremely complex. Given said complexity, the problems aren’t going to be answered by neat, sound bite answers usually given to us during election season. And they’re especially not going to be answered by blaming someone else and delaying real solutions for later and later generations to figure out.

Stop arguing, start listening.

This election season, don’t get caught up in the gossip and wedge-arguments that too many people like to focus on (including the media, which makes it harder to not get caught up in).

Make your voting decision based on specific policy issues. Think critically about specific plans offered up from all candidates. It may require a little more work, but it’s worth it.

To paraphrase Gandhi, you have to be the change you want to see. Want to see an efficient and effective government and political process? Stop with the partisan arguing, start with non- biased critical thinking and listening.