Above the Belt

“Today’s fighting words will be reduced to tomorrow’s interesting anecdotes but the true questions at the heart of every presidential election will remain.”  Yet the mud-slinging, finger-pointing, and blame naming always seems to be harsh, out of line, and of course extremely negative. A truly dirty and mean political ad usually has an adverse effect on me and the politician sponsoring it turns out to be the bad guy.  For example, “the Obama camp in a super-PAC financed ad blamed Mitt Romney for the death of a woman who lost her health insurance when Bain Capital closed a Kansas City Steel Plant.” Mitt Romney’s party is not completely innocent when it comes to “smear campaigns”, either.  Just recently, Romney advisor Richard Williamson suggested that the deaths of American diplomats in Benghazi might have been avoided if his man had been on watch.”  I have expressed that I do not have an affiliation to a particular party so both accusations seem like extremely low blows to me.  Although, this is not a new campaign tactic nor is it “unique” to the 2012 Presidential election.  Campaigning politicians have been slinging mud at each other since 1776 and in comparison to some elections in the past, “this contest has all the inter-religious animosity of a Lutheran versus Methodist slow pitch softball game.”  The negative advertisements, candidate bashing, and outright viciousness displayed during the course of an election makes the decision who to vote for even more complicated for me.  I understand that these candidates are doing everything they can to sway voters but can they not keep it clean?  Professor Melissa Deckman, a professor of political science at Washington College predicts that with the election still weeks away, “from an advertising perspective, this election could well be the most negative in history.” I do not support this type of political campaigning and find it very disappointing that this practice still occurs before elections.  Even more disappointing is that “brutal campaigns endure not only because they let off the collective steam of 300 million opinionated Americans, but because – unlikely as it seems – they work.”

Is this the nastiest election ever?

Office-seekers

One of the steps to take in achieving my goal to become a more politically active citizen is to be more aware of the politicians running for office (and not just the President). In the past, I have (shamefully) gone to the polls and voted for candidates based on very little, if any, information.  During my research for US Government 2305 and personal development, I came across an article about a” Legislative Arkansas candidate” by the name of Charles Fuqua. According to an article by the Huffington Post, , Fuqua believes not only that "a process could be set up to allow for the institution of the death penalty for "rebellious children," but he is also an "advocate  for expelling Muslims from the U.S., saying it would solve what he described as the "Muslim problem." This man is absolutely appalling and I would never vote for a person as offensive and insensitive as Charles Fuqua. Not only do I wonder who supports this type of leader and office-seeker but what if I voted for this type of politician simply due to my lack of knowledge regarding a candidate?  I realize now more than ever how important is it to be familiar with the nominees running for office.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/08/charlie-fuqua-arkansas-candidate-death-penalty-rebellious-children_n_1948490.html

My political stance

I am not very politically active, I do not follow politics in the news or media very often, and I do not have an affiliation with any particular political party.  I am, however, a very dedicated community activist.  My passion for community service began many years ago when I volunteered for the first time at a church vacation bible school and a few years after I graduated high school I joined the Americorps National Community Corps.  Currently, I volunteer as a Girl Scout Troop Leader and classroom helper at Menchaca Elementary school.  I have also had the great pleasure to volunteer for organizations such as the Capital Area Food Bank, Austin Parks Foundation, Front Steps, Inc., and Manchaca United Methodist church.  My career goal is to move beyond volunteering and gain employment within a nonprofit organization.  A personal goal I have set for myself is to pay more attention to politics, local in particular, and to participate in voting more often than I have in the past.  This course is a great starting point and stepping stone to achieving my personal goal.