I am tuning out all political messages until the conventions
are over and we see more serious campaigning.
What we see now, on both sides, is negative and mostly mindless
rhetoric. It is based on appeal to
followers, not anyone who wishes to think independently. Major national challenges are met, not
with specific ways of meeting them, but with burning criticism of the other
party or candidate. So why should I
make my election decisions based on the way each side bashes the other?
Yes, I’m judgmental, but I think I have a glimmer of
understanding. The issues are
complex. To research a single issue,
e.g. job creation, is laborious. We can
look at the Great Depression and everything that was done, without immediate
results, to get the economy back on its feet—soft money, hard money,
stimulus. Is there a politician alive
who has all of the answers? Then add
all the important issues, and it is a staggering task to understand them all. The questions are so deep that it is easier
to pick our favorite and follow him or her—just as we do with our favorite
sports team. Democracy places a great
burden on its citizens—much greater than what was conceived by our founders, I
think.
Why do I think that the conventions will change the
politicking? First, each side will
establish its platform—a set of its principles and priorities. This should force specifics on how the
candidate will approach the challenges.
But more important, there will be the debates. Let’s hope that the moderators will direct the debates to
intelligent, open and truthful discussion that will help all voters to make
enlightened decisions regardless of party attachment.
After the debates, the pundits will go on endlessly about
who won. Again, time to turn off.
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