The spirit of competition is alive and well in American society. Whether it's a sporting event or a political campaign, it seems to bring out the best and the worst in people. During this year's presidential election, we saw both of those scenarios play out in a big way.

There's nothing like the feeling of being relevant. An election has the potential of making people feel like they can make a difference, like they can be part of a team that shares their ideals and can work together toward something that will yield results. And of course everyone wants to be on the winning side, so they'll do anything to achieve that goal.

That feeling got millions of people excited about the presidential campaign this year. It drove many of those who had been apathetic about politics in the past to participate more actively. We saw that in the record number of volunteers working in the campaigns and the unprecedented amount of registered voters. The ratings for debates and convention coverage increased.

This election got people to stop and take a look at the issues that affect their daily lives and actively debate them amongst themselves. There were more voices with varied political views out there than ever before. It was the most analyzed and scrutinized election in history. That is a clear sign of a healthy democracy. But then it got ugly.

Political debate is a natural part of the electoral process in this and most civilized countries around the world. Yet somehow this year, the debate had a particularly negative tone, leaving a sour taste in many voters' mouths. I'm not just talking about the negative ads. We just need to refresh our memories a bit and look back at some of the mud-slinging that has gone on in past elections. The campaigns know that negative ads work, and they make very good use of them. The candidates themselves take advantage of every forum they have -- interviews, speeches, debates -- to not only sell their proposals, but take a stab at their opponents.

The public display of negativity in political campaigns is, unfortunately, a common part of the process. We heard some of it during campaign rallies, people shouting out insults to the candidate's opponent. The more extreme cases were at least two plots that were uncovered to assassinate Barack Obama.

But what is alarming is the increasingly hostile debate among voters, among friends and even among family members. You see it everywhere: at work, at parties, in schools, on the Internet, in blogs and even on Facebook.

Seriously, I have seen people delete friends in Facebook because of their political stance. One person I know was dumped out of Daddy Yankee's fan list after he endorsed John McCain. One McCain supporter has as her profile picture a caricature of Obama with Karl Marx as his running mate, and some of the comments about the Democratic candidate on her FunWall are unmentionable.

A woman organizing a fundraiser in Miami took the time to coordinate seating arrangements based on which candidate the guests were supporting, to avoid arguments. A dinner among friends a week before the election turned into a shouting match between McCain and Obama supporters. We were supposed to be celebrating good times, good food and great martinis, but suddenly we were discussing whether Sarah Palin would take away a woman's right to choose. Nothing better to turn your lychee martini into sour grapes.

We can all agree to disagree, but some of these political debates among common folks have not only exposed the political views people might otherwise have kept to themselves, but uncovered a darker side of some individuals: anger, hatred, fear of the unknown, even racism. It's one thing to disagree with someone's point of view, but it's another to insult him or her because of it.

We end this election cycle a country bitterly divided. The many challenges the new president will face will include bringing civility back.

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(Maria Elena Salinas is the author of “I AM MY FATHER'S DAUGHTER: LIVING A LIFE WITHOUT SECRETS.” Reach her at www 
.mariaesalinas.com)

© 2008 by Maria Elena Salinas

Distributed by King Features Syndicate