Politics... it's war.

They say "all's fair in love and war," but I think what they meant was politics.

This election has focused less on the economy than on warfare. But I don't mean the war overseas.  Rather, any issue where two sides disagree has been dubbed "warfare" during this election cycle.

Let's begin with the "war on women."

The term came about when Democratic strategists termed Republican anti-abortion opinions as not only going against women's personal feelings about the right to their body, but rather an actual war on women.  It refers to Republican stances on de-funding Planned Parenthood, overturning Roe v. Wade, and generally touting the opinion that women are not entitled to the choice to abort an unwanted pregnancy (let's avoid the rape/incest/just-don't-want-it debate here and leave it at that. There are clearly a number of nuances with abortion standpoints depending on the politician).

However, Romney's campaign brilliantly spun the "war on women" remarks back onto Obama, saying his poor economic policies are harming women.

So what it boils down to is a pity party by the Democratic party, right?  They're all about "war on women" and these ridiculously overblown statements, right?

Well... then came "class warfare."

This term came from the Republican side, arguing that Democratic Robin-Hood-style ideals meant that hard working Americans who earned their pay shouldn't have to help out the lazy lumps who haven't worked a day in their lives.

A conservative article lays out the popular argument against Obama, saying his policies such as taxing the rich, "demonizing corporations" and "attacking capitalism" are leading to this war-like state.

The question here is, are we at war with each other?

It seems that in this election, both sides are polarizing these issues and pitting the two sides against each other in order to create an angrier, meaner society.  Would we be as adamant about our positions if we weren't convinced we were at "war"?

Perhaps the way to take some of the edge out of election 2012 is to stop fighting one another, stop the "class warfare" and "war on women," and instead have an honest disagreement.

Because, as Edwin Starr once said... "War.  What is it good for?"