If I see another news report discussing the negativity of our political campaigns I think I may scream. Two things. Do we think this is new? Does it matter?
Negative attacks are as old as our nation. It is up to us to decide what is relevant and what to believe. I'm sure George Washington was bashed although he just led our nation to victory against the British. If he wasn't exempt from negative press, why should McCain and Obama have an expectation of exemption? This is way our founding fathers wanted it to be. Freedom of speech and the press were so important to them they ware listed in the First Amendment of the Constitution.
Another thing, I don't believe that Obama pointing out McCain was in Congress for 26 years while gas prices have gone from under a buck to $4/gallon is negative. Nor do I believe that McCain pointing out Obama become the biggest celebrity in the world is negative. Both points are fact. Neither is important to the issues, they are complete spin, but both are true. Can facts be negative?
Do these "negative" adds mean anything? Unfortunately yes. They take us away from real issues and important discussions that need to be had. Our voters are so terribly uninformed that they grab onto these adds like they are gospel. We live in a nation that has become so uneducated most of us cannot connect the dots. George Carlin once asked us to think about how stupid the average person is, and then remember half of them are dumber than that! Scary?
What can we do? We can educate ourselves and our circles of influence. If we are successful in doing so, it would be significantly tougher for spin doctors to throw garbage our way for us to digest. Read history books. Read newspapers that both agree and disagree with your perspectives. (I read the NY Times, CNN.com and MoveOn.org daily.) Open a dialogue with a friend, family member or even a complete stranger. Make education a priority in your life and maybe things will start to turn around.
God Bless America,
EG
erik@exchangeyourgovernment.com
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