In efforts to discourage voters from considering legitimate candidates seeking public offices, some campaign committees have committed to sowing exaggerated conjectures and outright lies toward their political opponents, painting them in a negative light. This is a practice that is presented by both major political parties, Republican and Democratic.
One can speculate that the parties are playing the public as credulous and predictable in being able to be swayed by others’ opinions, not necessarily facts. Those involved in this practice are banking that if their lies are found to be untrue, the doubt has been sown. I personally find it disrespectful and an insult to my intelligence, as if I can’t think for myself.
I see these mud-slanging tactics and smut-throwing campaigns to demean or vilify an opponent as a drastic attempt to brainwash or mislead people who are too lazy to do their own homework. Most of the time, you will find that these derogatory depictions are highly exaggerated or altogether false. Give me a break!
We are led to believe a Democratic candidate is too liberal or a Republican candidate too conservative. That leads no room for compromise to make progress that will benefit the public. Therefore, we all lose. There must be common ground somewhere. I personally don’t want to support a candidate who is so committed to a party that he/she will forgo what is in the best interests of their constituents—sacrificing their morality and integrity for their party, be it Republican or Democratic.
While some campaigns think they are helping their candidates by conducting smut campaigns against their opponents, they may be doing themselves a big disservice. Regardless of your political affiliation, there must be some issues or platforms you can identify with in the other party—if you are being truly honest.
I find more and more voters who are tired of the backbiting and refusal of some lawmakers to vote outside their political party lines, even if it means truly helping their constituents. We need to ask ourselves if we really want someone representing us who is so narrow-minded and impervious to common sense that they are willing to go against what everyone knows is right, and decent just for the sake of party loyalty.
I would think that each law considered would be weighed on its own merit. The individual lawmaker’s vote would be what they feel is in the best interests of the public. Refusal to work toward bipartisan support by some politicians literally serves as a thorn in our sides, negating the progress we need to go forward in our towns, cities, and states. When there is no room for compromise regardless of the existing facts presented, we all lose.
We must also be aware that both political parties (right and left) are literally being hijacked by the extremists on both sides. That fuels discontent among many members. Many of these extremists know no bounds in getting their points across. But this can lead to immoral and deceptive practices.
We must ask ourselves if we are willing to have those representing us lack integrity and morality, openly supporting lies and sowing deception and disunity. Many times those seeking public office show us their true colors, but many times we discount it to our own detriment. Let’s know how the game is played and do our homework. The future of our country depends on us doing the right thing.
Let’s stop being pawns of those discounting our ability to think and reason for ourselves. Not all of us are mindless robots programmed to believe everything we hear. There should be exorbitant fines and penalties for campaigns found deliberately sowing lies and gross hyperboles about their political opponents. Deceptive and misleading information against political opponents will continue as long as we allow it to occur without repercussions.
