Iapos;ll start by saying that I honestly and truly donapos;t wish to offend, insult, upset or do anything negative to any of my fellow nerdsranters. Even though Iapos;ve met none of you in person, I feel a kinship with you all and consider you all friends. I sincerely hope that I can write this in a way that speaks to honesty, facts and the most positive of emotions. Unfortunately, Iapos;ve succumbed to some pretty negative juju in the last few hours and need a reality check. I realize that political choices are personal ones. But nerdsrant has been a shining beacon to what political discourse should be. We have all been able to discuss whatapos;s best for the country that we all love (no, not Iceland) and disagree without resorting to attacking each other personally. Iapos;m proud of my association with a group such as this. I honestly believe that people of all political stripes really want the best for America, their children, and their neighbors. (And no, I havenapos;t had a drop of alcohol.) This is why John McCainapos;s continuous attacks on Barack Obama in recent weeks and especially in tonightapos;s debate have literally made me nauseous. Is it me, or is this a new low in negative campaigning? Iapos;m not saying that you shouldnapos;t vote for McCain if youapos;ve done your research and think heapos;s the best choice. Iapos;m only talking about the political culture of savaging your opponent with lies and half-truths in order to win. If you canapos;t win on the facts without falsely calling your opponent a terrorist by association, maybe you shouldnapos;t win. I once thought Senator McCain was an honest, straight-shooting son-of-a-gun, in all the best ways. I still think that he is, deep down in there somewhere. But as Senator Obama has been pulling ahead in the polls, a desperate tenor has taken over the McCain campaign. Itapos;s as if heapos;s willing to stoop to any level to win. I am so grateful for Senator McCainapos;s service to this country both in the military and in government. But, if he cannot resist the urge to run this dirty campaign, then my heroapos;s feet are truly made of clay. Iapos;m not saying that Senator Obama is perfect. Far from it. But to say that heapos;s palling around with domestic terrorists is a disgusting misrepresentation. To say that heapos;s inexperienced is a red herring. To pick Sarah Palin as running mate speaks to the lowest, most self-serving of intentions (namely, Senator McCain has shown that he cares more about capturing the presidency than in being a good president). Yet, at the same time, I canapos;t really blame Senator McCain for behaving so reprehensibly. His behavior is, in fact, our fault. Politicians continue to run these negative campaigns because they work. We have the power to bring an end to this kind of campaigning. I know everyone reading this votes on the issues and not on the attacks. But, how can we as a nation make the same commitment? How can we stop our fellow citizens from voting on unfounded fears and distractions? In that light, these distractions should be off the table of political discourse:
1. Abortion (the only reasons to be against are religious and emotional (hence personal), which is fine and respectable, but is indicative of an issue that shouldnapos;t be addressed with legislation)
2. Who people marry (really, whatapos;s it to you?)
3. What people do in their bedrooms (again, why do you care?)
4. Using the word "liberal" as an epithet
5. Using the word "conservative" like itapos;s an insult
6. Peopleapos;s religious beliefs
7. Guilt by association (holy hell, I thought we got rid of that with McCarthy)
8. Casting aspersions on the other candidateapos;s patriotism There are powerful people who are using these highly emotional and personal topics as distractions from the real issues. We need to get beyond this. Can we start any political discourse with the understanding that politicians want to promote themselves, but are in public service to do good until proven otherwise (Iapos;m talking to you, Dick Cheney)?
Any political debate should have an instantaneous fact check. Certainly, with the Internet and a non-partisan team of researchers, this is possible. Lies and misrepresentations on either side of the aisle should not be tolerated. Anyone in elected office should be considered continually "under oath" and should be held in contempt and subject to impeachment for lying, just like Bill Clinton was for lying to the grand jury. There should also be a similar oath administered to all candidates. Newly-empowered election boards should have the power to financially sanction any candidate caught lying. Itapos;s regrettable to advocate such a thing, but in the face of an electorate that doesnapos;t know where to turn for the truth, it has become necessary. Yes, this is idealism, and yes it is a ridiculously high standard that we may never achieve. But we should be setting the highest standards possible. Does the greatest nation in the history of civilization deserve any less?
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