Here we sit in the middle of another very hotly contested, and somewhat distressing, Presidential primary season. The last affair had Democracts in the "eye of the storm" on their way to the the "eve of destruction."
Americans are an interesting people. If the polls are to be believed, we hate what our political process has devolved too. Yet the very things we hate about the process, we allow to shape the way we think and, too often, vote.
Let's take a step (or four) back; four years ago a young upstart, albiet rising star, named Barack "Barry" Obama was challenging every pundit's pick for "first in history" female President, Hillary Clinton. They battled each other well into June before Clinton conceded the nomination to now President Obama. The media beat the drum of devastation if Barack pulled off the upset; he was just too liberal to be elected by the more right-of-center American electorate. Rush Limbaugh even got into it, urging Texan Republicans and Independents to register in the Demo primary, then vote for Obama because he didn't stand a chance of being elected President. Well, how'd that work out for you Rush?
What can we learn from that last epic battle?
First, resist the onslaught of information from two very powerful groups of people seeking to shape our opinion, our outlook and our vote. The frist: the people who REDACT the news; these are not the people who make the news. The media shapes the context of the news they deliver into whatever it is THEY happen to believe or WANT the consumers of news (that's us) to believe. The second: the speical interest groups (Corporations, mega-wealthy individuals and lest we forget Unions!) and campaign professionals who have become masters of distortion, fog, and 60 second sound bites. Don't be taken in by these spinmasters!
Second, take personal responsibility to get informed about what candidates believe, what they stand for. Look at what they do, or have done, not simply what they or the surrogates say. In this information age we live in, there just is no excuse for depending on others to shape the matrix of factors you may use to make up your mind. All the candidates have websites, visit them, study their position statements, get informed.
Next, don't allow others to "suppress" your enthusiasm about your party or your candidates. Pundits from both parties work hard in an attempt to persuade us to embrace their reality and discourage us from fully engaging in the process and supporting/campaigning for our candidates.
Let's take a step (or four) back; four years ago a young upstart, albiet rising star, named Barack "Barry" Obama was challenging every pundit's pick for "first in history" female President, Hillary Clinton. They battled each other well into June before Clinton conceded the nomination to now President Obama. The media beat the drum of devastation if Barack pulled off the upset; he was just too liberal to be elected by the more right-of-center American electorate. Rush Limbaugh even got into it, urging Texan Republicans and Independents to register in the Demo primary, then vote for Obama because he didn't stand a chance of being elected President. Well, how'd that work out for you Rush?
What can we learn from that last epic battle?
First, resist the onslaught of information from two very powerful groups of people seeking to shape our opinion, our outlook and our vote. The frist: the people who REDACT the news; these are not the people who make the news. The media shapes the context of the news they deliver into whatever it is THEY happen to believe or WANT the consumers of news (that's us) to believe. The second: the speical interest groups (Corporations, mega-wealthy individuals and lest we forget Unions!) and campaign professionals who have become masters of distortion, fog, and 60 second sound bites. Don't be taken in by these spinmasters!
Second, take personal responsibility to get informed about what candidates believe, what they stand for. Look at what they do, or have done, not simply what they or the surrogates say. In this information age we live in, there just is no excuse for depending on others to shape the matrix of factors you may use to make up your mind. All the candidates have websites, visit them, study their position statements, get informed.
Next, don't allow others to "suppress" your enthusiasm about your party or your candidates. Pundits from both parties work hard in an attempt to persuade us to embrace their reality and discourage us from fully engaging in the process and supporting/campaigning for our candidates.
Finally, remember...there is plenty of time and this election will be a wild affair with twists and turns that will leave us all breathless with anticipation and racked by anxiety over revelations we did not anticipate.
Bottom line...keep the main thing, the main thing. We're electing a President, Vice President, Senators and Representatives who will shape the nation...our children and grand children will inherit. Let's keep it real and get it right.
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