It’s ironic that the election season heats up right after the Olympics. For about two weeks, the United States is unified. We invite friends and neighbors over to watch the games. We gather in bars to cheer on our athletes and to moan in despair when they fall short.
For a brief period of time we are even almost at peace with the rest of the world. Hostilities are suspended and we acknowledge talented athletes wherever they come from, whatever their religion or form of government.
The opening and closing ceremonies are filled with the host country’s national pride, but also with the message of peace and goodwill for the world. I love to hear the call to the “citizens of the world” to support the athletes. I’m always a bit sad at the end of the closing ceremony, as the torch is passed to the next country, not to be seen again for four years. Out of sight, out of mind.
Our talented athletes continue to train, but the rest of us get back to business, forgetting the message of understanding and compassion for all.
In fact, as the light from the Olympic flame fades, the political rhetoric gets fired up. Primary elections are over and there is no stopping the firestorm of political advertising, all aimed at telling us how bad the “other” guy or gal is.
I hate the slanderous political ads that burn up the airwaves, taking a few words out of a speech or distorting the intent behind a bill and screaming out something utterly outlandish.
So now hear this, politicians of the world! Learn from the Olympics and concentrate on your own game. I don’t want to hear what your opponent is doing wrong.
Maybe he did vote to increase taxes or to increase tuition. Maybe she did use government cars or planes for personal trips. Maybe he slashed social services funding or rolled back defense spending. Perhaps your opponent likes to swim naked in butterscotch pudding and set fire to kittens. That’s his or her problem.
If they are doing something I disagree with, I’ll find out. There are fabulous reporters out there who sit down and conduct face-to-face interviews. There are in-depth articles on candidates in Time and Newsweek and programs like Meet the Press and Face the Nation that truly are fair and balanced and give you a good idea of what a candidate believes.
So I don’t need to hear outlandish and exaggerated mudslinging ads. I don’t want to hear your claims about what the other candidate is doing.
Candidates of the world, I want to hear your plans and your ideas for taking care of our children and the elderly; for keeping our country safe; for growing our economy and more.
I want to hear how you are going to get us to the finish line!
When we got into office, the thing
that surprised me most was to find
that things were just as bad as we’d
been saying they were.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy
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