'Tis the season to be political. "Look." It's time for at least one more dip into politics, "my friends," because "gosh darn it," even if you "Joe Six-Packs" are as tired of this presidential race as I am, current events dictate that I intervene. (Cheap and unfunny, I know. I need some SNL writers.)
It's inevitable that political campaigns will eventually incite some amount of rancor. They involve issues that all people will get emotional about. Opinions on issues that typically arise in political discussions tend to closely relate to beliefs and feelings rooted deep within our upbringing and life experiences. And if someone comes along and challenges those beliefs, we're quick to get defensive and argumentative. Which can be positive, if kept under control; it's always good to offer alternate perspectives.
But things are clearly getting out of hand, on both sides. It's not about the issues any more, it's about who makes it to the 270-electoral-vote finish line first. And a significant portion of those undecided voters are swayed by sweeping generalizations ("Senator X has voted yes 398 times on bills to dump toxic waste directly into our elementary schools!") and outrageous exaggerations ("Senator Y has a summer home in a cave in Afghanistan!"). The sad fact is, if you want to win, you have to play these games at some point or another.
So that's what we've been constantly hearing, and these lies are causing the emotions of many Americans to boil over. You've heard the insane oversimplification that connects Sen. Obama to terrorism. People hear it over and over again, and with enough repetition, a sketchy claim all of a sudden becomes a tightly clung-to belief. Exclamations of "Terrorist!" and "Kill him!" (referring to Obama) have been heard at McCain/Palin rallies, according to this very well-written column in last Sunday's Dallas Morning News: Frank Schaeffer: John McCain is fueling a dangerous hatred.
And be sure, Sen. Obama's campaign hasn't exactly been daises and butterflies, either.
Fortunately for the well-being of our country, at least one man has (finally) begun to realize this. Take a look at some clips from McCain's campaign trail:
It scares me that, with a rare and sincere sentiment of sanity in this presidential campaign, you hear angry groans. This is a product of the hatred this campaign has generated. And I am grateful that John McCain had the courage to say what he said, because I, and every American, needed to hear it (even if they didn't want to). This dangerous spark, a terrible side effect from overly negative politics, can ignite into a violent firestorm. We have to make sure we put it out.
Man, it sucks that Tony Romo's out for 4 weeks, doesn't it? The world really is in trouble.
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Afterthought:
Oh, by the way, so what if Obama were a Muslim? Campbell Brown makes good points.
Sometimes I feel like Karl Rove has McCain's family held hostage somewhere and is making him do things like pick Sarah Palin as a running mate. Or it's a Manchurian Candidate-type mind-control situation. Either way, it seemed like he snapped out of it for a second there.
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