Left Hook, Right Jab

On November 2nd, one of my classmates wrote a great article on her blog, Coming Out of Political Darkness, about the alarming decline in our culture's political involvement. She talked about how we, as a nation, used to take pride in being involved in the election process. However things have changed dramatically. She says, "It seems millions of Americans just don’t care who wins or loses anymore. And why should they? We haven’t been given any real reasons to. Instead of what they can do for our country, the presidential candidates seem more interested in tearing each other down and saying whatever it takes to win publicity." She's got a good point. These days, presidential campaigns are just plain ol' ridiculous. Almost every ad consists of some bold allegation or petty slight directed at the opposing candidate. Both parties are guilty of this; neither are blameless. Campaign ads and debates are much like watching children argue back and forth: "We can blame the politicians, but it’s not all their fault. We allow this to go on and millions actually encourage it. The American public doesn’t want to watch an actual debate. They want a show. American viewers want to see a cat fight where the gloves come off and the blows get dirty. Not a well rounded argument that forces them to give us actual facts." I agree that things have gotten out of hand... and it's time that we reevaluate where we are and where we are going. If we want things to change, then we are going to have to be willing to take measures to force the change.