Politics
When my children were young, I took them with me to vote. Before we went into the polling place, I said to them, "We vote because somebody died so we could have the right to vote." Now I think the reason we vote is because somebody lived so we could have the right to vote.
You have to wonder -- when political ads focus on a college prank pulled by your opponent -- what else could that money have gone to?
It's midterm election time. How are you going to vote? Well, it's obvious, isn't it? Your side -- whichever it is -- is the only one that will save America from utter financial and moral collapse. The other side -- whichever it is -- is full of liars and hypocrites controlled by unscrupulous cabals who, for financial reasons, are willing to ruin the common man. And woman.
The passage from James' letter warns that our words, for better or worse, can turn a ship or light a forest ablaze. At this point in the campaign season, every time I see a political ad I mute my TV or change the station. I know I'm not alone.
Some days, I miss getting a physical copy of the newspaper delivered to my door. The headlines are always much less dramatic when they pop up on my Kindle. But, no matter the form, the front page of this Sunday's New York Times was distressing. The first two articles that appeared were headlined, "Democrats Unleash Ads Focusing on Rival's Pasts" and "Karl Rove is back With a Republican Election Strategy."
Let's try it. For the next six weeks before the election, let's focus on truth and civility. Why? Because it's getting worse. With the campaign season in full swing, the level of our public discourse has hit new lows. From politicians to commentators, I keep hearing the same thing, "We've never seen it get this bad." And some of them are clearly helping to make things worse.
[Editor's note: The Senate will be voting on the https://secure3.convio.net/sojo/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAct
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