The most venomous campaigns in history?
Hate Bush? Hate Kerry? Hate Nader(poor Ralph must be feeling left out...)? Hate politicians in general?
When did politics get so disgusting? And worse, are we partly to blame?
As a somewhat educated person with a healthy interest in government and politics, this election season has been bittersweet. Interest in the race for the White House is the highest it's been in recent memory. Pollsters are anticipating the biggest voter turnout in many, many years this Election Day. It seems that even those who only have a passing interest in politics are watching this year's race like it's Seinfeld's final episode.
Some of the resons for this are obvious. Everyone seems to realize that we're at a historical turning point as a country and a civilization. What the American government and the American people do has never been more impactful or more highly scrutinized than it is today. And when the nation's direction can hinge on a few hundred votes, nobody with a pulse is staying home this Nov. 2nd.
When every vote is this valuable, the candidates are surely going to use the techniques they believe will be most effective, the most likely to motivate you and I, your Average Voters, to pull that little lever next to their name. When the stakes are high, you HAVE to do what works, right?
So here's my question: when did we, the Voters, decide that the guy that hurls better insults gets our vote? When did we decide to let politics become the equivalent of a national playground fight, complete with childish bullying, tattling and finger pointing? When did we conclude that the ability to direct the electorate's anger and distrust is the most important quality a leader should display?
Is it any wonder that things ain't as good as they used to be?
It seems to me that our contry's political foundation is crumbling, and it's going to be up to us, Your Average Voters, to fix it. Hopefully we can figure out how.
When did politics get so disgusting? And worse, are we partly to blame?
As a somewhat educated person with a healthy interest in government and politics, this election season has been bittersweet. Interest in the race for the White House is the highest it's been in recent memory. Pollsters are anticipating the biggest voter turnout in many, many years this Election Day. It seems that even those who only have a passing interest in politics are watching this year's race like it's Seinfeld's final episode.
Some of the resons for this are obvious. Everyone seems to realize that we're at a historical turning point as a country and a civilization. What the American government and the American people do has never been more impactful or more highly scrutinized than it is today. And when the nation's direction can hinge on a few hundred votes, nobody with a pulse is staying home this Nov. 2nd.
When every vote is this valuable, the candidates are surely going to use the techniques they believe will be most effective, the most likely to motivate you and I, your Average Voters, to pull that little lever next to their name. When the stakes are high, you HAVE to do what works, right?
So here's my question: when did we, the Voters, decide that the guy that hurls better insults gets our vote? When did we decide to let politics become the equivalent of a national playground fight, complete with childish bullying, tattling and finger pointing? When did we conclude that the ability to direct the electorate's anger and distrust is the most important quality a leader should display?
Is it any wonder that things ain't as good as they used to be?
It seems to me that our contry's political foundation is crumbling, and it's going to be up to us, Your Average Voters, to fix it. Hopefully we can figure out how.
posted by Blogmeister3000 at 4:13 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home