Politics of Personal Destruction

Yesterday morning on this "This Week with George Stephanapolous", the Governor of Pennsylvania said we have now entered into "politics of personal destruction". I am sure he was not the first one to coin this phrase, but it stuck with me, as I spent the rest of the day, more concerned than ever that the example we are setting as leaders to our children and future leaders continues to erode and worsen. At the risk of being sexist, I think this is even heightened with Governor Palin than the others. During this election cycle we have seen two extremely smart and capable women leaders emerge. They have broken a ceiling. I am proud that this has happened. It reflects well on our country. What is not good is the example we see our future women leaders seeing and thinking what they should emulate. Governor Palin has an even larger responsibility as she casts herself as the person who is most like the typical American. She is, more than any of the other candidates, carrying an even larger responsibility to be a role and character model for other young women and men to follow. But why does she, and all the others, feel that they can only win if they are mean and degrading of others? Can we not find one politician, man or woman, who will rise above the fray and bring a spirit of decency to what they do? It is not right to try and degrade and demean other human beings. Can we not see this and call each other out when it occurs? I realize what the holy grail is to a politician; it is to be approved by as many people as possible. There is a Bible verse in the book of Romans that tells them what to do to gain that approval. Romans Chapter 13, verse 13: "We should be decent and true in everything we do, so that everyone can approve of our behavior". It's that simple. So, please, Senator Obama, Senator McCain, Senator Biden, Governor Palin, please be decent for the next month so we can not only be proud of our leaders but feel confidence without reservation that you are the leaders our children and next generation of leaders can emulate! If you are really in touch with the American psyche, you will know we need this even more than we need you to win.

Ugly Americans

I'm disheartened by what I am seeing from the political process and this election cycle. The amount of pure cynicism and personal attacking and demeaning of the value of someones work and contributions to society is appalling. It's happening on both sides and it should stop. It's not right to look down on someones work experience and belittle it. What someone does with their time to serve our country and others whether it be as a Senator, a Governor, a Soldier, a Mayor, or a Community Organizer is special and should be celebrated and not demeaned. To listen to those who are supposed to be the leaders and role models to our country, the world, and most importantly to the leaders of tomorrow (who are looking for role models on how to behave), mock and belittle each other is nothing short of shameful. I get that it is politics but nothing absolves decency to each other. I have been in some heated discussions recently about the differences between the two parties and the leaders on both sides, but I ensure that I stop short of making a mockery of someones work. It's just not right. This political season was supposed to be about bringing out the best in us, to show the world and ourselves that we can operate differently and be better than we have been, and to bring in a new generation of voters who could look to their government and their leaders as positive influences on their lives. But, we are failing and sliding back into the ways of the past and we continue to earn that term "ugly Americans" from the rest of the world. Yesterday I was challenged on what political party was the party who welcomed in those of faith and moral values and which one was about trying to eliminate religion and moral values in our society. What I see is that that is not the core issue right now. That's a higher level of authenticity that we haven't even reached yet. It's still baseline fundamentals that need to be worked on first. What I see is that we need to make sure that both parties are living, talking and acting to the values they espouse. What I would like to see first and foremost from the candidates is that they treat each other like the way they want to be treated and start being decent and graceful in how they speak and act. Start with just being grateful of each other's service and work for the country. From there, I will accept whether or not they are being the person, or the party that they say they are. Until that happens, we can expect it to get worse and worse. We shouldn't stand for it and we should, with our vote, just make it stop.