Surprise! Surprise!

I was minding my own business watching a little television in these waning days before the elections and then it happened.

I got splattered with the mud of campaign rhetoric.

After the elections, Congress and Legislatures convene to do the work of governing and they often marvel at the low opinion they carry in the eyes of the general public. The problem seems to be their memories are too short.

Just a few short months before, the airways and papers and campaign trails were full of folks talking about how one's opponent was a liar, a traitor, and a thief--not necessarily in that order.

It would appear to me these folks don't think much about the consequences of such campaign tactics. I do.

Someone is going to win the election. Generally speaking, it is someone who is running for the office. Generally speaking, it is someone who campaigns for the office. Generally speaking, it is someone that is muddy from "slung mud" and from "slinging mud." Rule of thumb is that one cannot throw mud without getting some of that mud on oneself. So here we are.

At least two campaign; both of which are portrayed as (see above). One wins and yet what is the general public to believe? Well, in my practice I have a phrase I use about destructive behavior. I call it "fouling one's own back yard."

That seems to be the current trend in the world of politics. If politicians want a better relationship between the voters and themselves, quit calling each other liars and thieves. No wonder we don't trust politicians. They have painted their opponents in the worst possible light, so what are we left to conclude? After the smoke clears, are they no longer what they were portrayed to be? Were they ever? Were differences of opinion called something else? Were these in fact simply different philosophical ideas, different approaches, different ways of understanding problems?

If Congressmen and women want the public to trust them more, perhaps they need to recast their rhetoric and get away from invectives and "mudding."

It might restore some confidence in the political system. Strange as it seems, that might be a good thing.

It's that Time Again, YUK!!

Grit your teeth, hold your nose, it's election time again.

I should like to send out into the streets of America the V-8 "dope slap" team to help us get pass this distasteful plague on Americans.

Basically, the "dope slap" team would split off and go with every candidate large and small. Their sole responsibility would be to "dope slap" a candidate when he or she got off on telling everyone what his or her opponent believed instead of what he or she believed. Every time they reached down in the mud to hurl some at their opponent, the "dope slap" team would get there first, get the most, and hurl it back.

The problem is way too much money is being spent tearing down the other guy. So it should come as no surprise when the election is finally settled, about 50% of the population don't trust the winner, and most folks have doubts about them all.

If a candidate were going to persuade me to vote for him or her, I would need to know several things of substance.I would want them take about the roots of their character formation and who were their models and heroes growing up. I would want to know what was the basis of their moral code. I would want to know if they believed in supporting charities and mobilizing volunteers to be a vital force in American life. I would want to hear some practical ideas to make taxes better spent, programs more efficient, troops more prepared with all the equipment they need. I would want to know how to be a global power without a swaggering arrogance and how to lead the way in reaching out to the least in our world.

I would want to know if our model of democracy is adaptable to other countries and if not, why not, and what would work for those emerging nations. Tyranny is a non-starter for me.

I could even imagine an election one day where all we heard was great ideas, great philosophies, great cooperation, and great governing.

When I talk with conflicted couples, one of the first challenges I have is to change their way of thinking about each other. What is it I say to they? Simple really, "You guys are on the same team.In marriage, in raising a family, parent to child, mom and dad are on the same team. Forget that and you are dead!"

Our campaigns have forgotten that we are all on the same team. We may occupy different possessions and some will play defense to another's offense, but we both playing the same game.

Perhaps if we could get that through our partisan heads, the United States might begin to work together again.