Election day is finally here. One of the nice things about being in Italy for much of October was the avoidance of all the campaign advertising. It was quite a shock to come back to the USA and see Wolf Blitzer talking about the “countdown to the polls closing” on CNN … with the digital clock reading 75-hours remaining! Absurd.
Anyway, given that today is election day, I wanted to share a verse with you. Titus 3:1-2 says, “Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward men.”
Now, can our election process be any further from that? Not only do the candidates spend millions on negative campaigns designed to destroy the reputation of their opponent, but the loud elements within both political parties shout horrible things about each other. Slander is now an art form, walking the thin line between outright lies and shaded innuendo. Peaceable and considerate? Not likely. Humility? Impossible to find.
But here’s the really sad thing. We’re buying into this nonsense. When our candidate wins, we think justice has been done, even if that candidate smeared the other side and threw mud for months. Candidates use these tactics because they work. And they work because we buy into it. We even practice it, as evidenced by the emails and conversations I’ve had with individuals about the election.
Here’s my recommendation that comes a bit too late, but perhaps will help for the next campaign season. Whenever a negative political ad comes on television, radio, email, or even the web, turn it off. Walk away. Hit the mute button. Tell the sender to stop. Whatever you need to do to eliminate the message from hitting your consciousness. But this is the key part: do it EVEN IF YOU AGREE WITH THE STATEMENT. That’s the only way to stop this nonsense.
A reminder to, “…be ready to do whatever is good…”