I love America. Old Glory, apple pie, rock ‘n’ roll… you know, the bread and butter that makes this country tick. I would do anything to keep this machine juicing, and this election season will give me an opportunity to do so.

“Today, it starts with you,” President Obama told me in an e-mail. “Republicans have made it clear what they will do if elected this fall—attempt to repeal our historic achievements and obstruct progress on the work that lies ahead.”

According to the President—who can’t lie because he’s the President—my choice is clear. But just in case, I asked the Republicans.

“The economy is in shambles, the government is failing, and Americans are losing hope,” said the Republican National Committee on its website. “Barack Obama was not ready to be President. He’s not the solution. You are.”

So, let me get this straight: our country’s future is in my hands, and no matter what I choose, we’re screwed?

Welcome to the politics of fear. Basically, politicians on both sides of the aisle stress the importance of the next election and paint themselves as America’s protectors. Then, they explain how voting for them will prevent their America-destroying opponents from doing what they love, namely, destroying America.

The side that wins spends its time in power backing legislation the other side will find abhorrent, while the other side does whatever it can to deny their enemies political victories, even if it means opposing legislation it finds appealing. If this is an exaggeration, I worry that it is only a slight one.

Of course, neither party ever performs as well as it promises to or as poorly as the other side says it will. Somehow, after many periods of both sickness and health, America is still standing.

This is not to say it doesn’t matter who we elect. Obviously, our country might be very different had John McCain won in 2008. It is to say, however, that the fear of the other side politicians try to elicit in voters is usually inappropriate and frankly, absurd.

It is also dangerous. If it used to be a bizarre minority that not only questioned an official’s policies but also his or her humanity, those days are over.

According to a recent Newsweek poll, the number of Americans who believe President Obama is Muslim jumped from 13 percent in 2008 to 24 percent in 2010, while 52 percent of Republicans polled believe it is “definitely” or “probably true” that Obama “sympathizes with the goals of fundamentalists who want to impose Islamic law around the world.”

Bearing in mind the incredibly ignorant mischaracterization of Islam as a violent faith whose followers are worthy of accusation, as well as the fact that President Bush faced similarly ridiculous comparisons to Adolf Hitler, it is clear the fear politicians stir for electoral gain has exceeded its function as a political tool.

It is tough to offer solutions to the problem, because while I believe voting is a civic duty, few politicians seem interested in convincing me they have anything better to do than crap on each other.

But perhaps I’m being unfair and putting too much blame on them. Maybe if we want politicians to stop behaving like children, we have to stop responding to the childish things they do.

The truth is there will always be excessive fear mongering in politics. It is also true, however, that we can answer responsibly when Newsweek calls to ask if we think the president supports terrorists.

And it is also true that, if all else fails, we can remind ourselves that an election, though always important, has never destroyed our country and that no matter who is running the show, we’ll always have Old Glory, apple pie and rock ’n’ roll.