Just be straight when campaigning

Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.” Ecclesiastes 9:18

As we are approaching the time of our national elections, this verse came up in my brief moment of reading.

I have been collecting a fair amount of campaign mailing material, mostly coming from far-right PACs supporting the leading GOP candidate for Senate, but also coming from the candidate himself. The incoming unsolicited mail rose from a trickle to a small flood, right before the primaries, and has slowly begun once again this past week.

Much of the mail consists of misleading innuendo casting doubt on the moral, ethical and religious integrity of his opponent, in the least. Much more consists of false accusations against Senate candidate Barbara Bollier.

Those accusations only reinforce my opposition to the GOP candidate and his PAC supporters promoting the allegations. There is absolutely no justifiable cause, not even by using high-minded, moral sounding word-speak can one justify bearing false witness, in any language or forum.

My advice to Mr. Marshall and his attack dogs: keep this up and you are only digging the hole deeper into which you will eventually fall in and cannot get out.

Negative campaigning has destroyed so much goodwill between people, even between friends. I am completely fed up with it. I am done. Finished!

If anyone wants to sell me on a candidate for office, do two things only: tell me the candidate’s qualifications for the position while telling me what he/she will do while in office. No “but she is doing this,” or “the liberal left is evil.” Just give me the scoop or the plan. No “buts” about it. If you object, I am gone.

The lies tell me more about the moral, spiritual and mental state of mind of the accuser than anything else. To paraphrase a Forrest Gump response, “evil is as evil does.”

You know, that felt good, getting this off my chest. This angry white man shtick was bound to be useful, one day. Perhaps I should do more.

I am thinking of having a post-election campaign party and throw those promotional materials, one by one onto a bonfire of unbiblical proportions, prepared for such an occasion.

Perhaps I should invite Michael Woods, a former TC theatre and drama student, now an up-and-coming actor living in Chicago and produce another video version of “Dante’s Inferno.”

Sidebar: It’s a long story about a controlled burn of a harvested wheat field, when Woods, his girlfriend (and now spouse) and friends came by and made a cool video, at night.

Anyway, gone are the days when political candidates were civil in expressing their disagreements between themselves. Gone are the days when political ideology did not motivate any political celebrity—or President—to incite followers to commit violence, or murder.

Earlier in the last decade, ultra-conservative political pundit of InfoWars, Alex Jones, called for the complete and total annihilation of the opposition party. Jones was not speaking figuratively or metaphorically, but quite literally. On video, he said he is willing to pick up his weapon and kill the first liberal to begin this political genocide.

Today, in the aftermath of the first presidential candidate debate, words by Mr. Trump echoes through every mainstream media feed. “….Proud Boys, stand back and stand by,” says Mr. Trump. He refused to condemn white supremacists and militia groups when asked by the debate moderator, Chris Wallace.

Stand back,” I understand. But, “stand by?” It looks like he is telling them to wait until further orders. A militia group, an unofficial, undisciplined para-military organization is to wait for further instructions? For what? A race war?

Enough said.

Gone are the days when political opponents can sit down every morning, for breakfast, and discuss between themselves how the day’s business in the House will proceed. Such were the days between Kansas’ own Representative, Bob Dole and House Speaker, Tip O’Neill, longtime friends, even though they were political opponents.

At breakfast, they chatted like old buddies. They planned their day’s business, allowing for potential difficulties in achieving bipartisan agreement. After departing, they went to their corners and focused on achieving success on behalf of their respective constituents.

Today, political opponents stay huddled in their corners, planning and strategizing how they will defeat their opposition. Gone is their desire to govern well, to fashion legislation which will serve their constituents back home.

The more than 400 pieces of legislation piling up on Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell’s desk is a testament to the new priorities of obfuscation, delay and obstruction. This behavior deserves a vote of no confidence for all who willingly participate in it.

In retrospect, the writer of Ecclesiastes had it right. One sinner certainly can destroy much good. But many misdirected sinners can destroy our world.

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