Sex, Lies and Video Tapes

With the Clinton era came the sex and lies. Fast-forward to this era and what do we have? One heated, controversial political race after another. The significance in the local races that I see is how prevalent the outrageous and blatant the apparent lies have been. The most blaring ones are on TV. It seems that someone unbolted the gates to an open season of volatile and questionable claims and accusations from one candidate to or about another without any regard for accuracy or reality. Half-baked truths are turned inside out to create what appears to be an outright lie. It seems the only way the political advisors know how to combat false and outrageous claims is to counter-attack with their own apparent fictitious assertions. My take on this type of activity is to create mass confusion. Unless you have the connections or resources to investigate the claims make of either candidate, you have only the media’s word. Which leads me to my first point. Where is the media in all of this? How can they just sit by and run those commercials without any regard for community responsibility or the regard for integrity? Is it the money? My eleven-year-old son asked me this morning on the way to school who I was going to vote for. I told him I wasn’t sure. Then I asked him who he would vote for, because I knew that he has seen several of the political commercials on TV. He said, “I don’t know either, because I don’t know who to believe.” It seems so sad to me to have to pick one of what appears to be the better of two evils. I’ve had a chance to meet several of the candidates and in person they are very personable, reasonable, logical, caring and forthright people. But, get their marketing machines going and you see an entirely different person. My opinion is we should go back to “stumping” without the media. But of course that is not possible today due to the massive size of our country and the significance we play in the world. Which takes me back to the profound importance that each vote counts. Just recently Darryl Kerley lost an office by three votes. Several years ago Ralph Whaley beat Bob Williams by one vote. Think again if you think your votes doesn’t count. The bottom line is this election is over. The votes are in and the people have spoken. We must now live with the decisions they made – right or wrong. I just wish the process was a little different.