Political ads are like kids in a schoolyard

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The election is right around the corner and I’m sure most of you have already decided for whom and what to vote. I was never very politically active as a young woman, but I find that as I become more in tune with what I truly value I have become more involved in fundraising and those issues that I am passionate about. What I find troubling is how contentious some of the political ads have gotten. Larry King had a show on a couple of nights ago that showed candidates from across the country using tactics to win their race that could only be labeled as smarmy. Is it my imagination or have we become a culture that seems to be taking on behaviors that are used by children who don’t yet have rational ways of communicating? If one of the kids in my generation wanted to get your goat they would start yelling statements like ‘‘your mother has a mustache’’ or ‘‘Your sister has a big butt.’’

Those words pale in comparison to some of the slander that is used today. Why isn’t someone with common sense counseling these people about how they’re being represented? We all know that if you hear someone being bashed all the time, you are going to start being a little suspicious about the one who’s doing the bashing.

I wonder how anyone can live through a campaign today without taking heavy doses of antidepressants. Or why anyone would even want to run for office of any kind. I think we do things backward. I would like people to start to debate right off the bat. Put them on every week until the election and get rid of the ads. Let’s hear what they have to say from the get-go. Why wait until the end?

Malicious finger pointing is not just directed at politicians. Many of the so- called hip broadcasters use it in their reporting and interviews. Why is there so much shouting and talking over other people? This is not a conversation, this is a duel to the finish. I would love to watch one news talk show on which people are allowed to finish their sentences.

So much of this is about civility. Why can’t a point be made anymore without trying to make the other person look like an idiot or taking over the spotlight until the other person disappears from view? We really need to go back to conversing and debating the old-fashioned way. One person speaks, the other listens and responds, and then the next person gets a turn. Isn’t this what our parents told us? ‘‘Listen to me when I’m talking to you.’’ Oops, there I go again, sounding like my mother. ...

Author, humorist, PBS star and Fortune 500 trainer Loretta LaRoche lives in Plymouth. To share your pet peeves, questions or comments, write to The Humor Potential, 50 Court St., Plymouth 02360, send e-mail to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , visit the Web site at www.stressed.com, or call toll-free 800-99-TADAH (82324).

By LORETTA LAROCHE
For The Patriot Ledger

Copyright 2006 The Patriot Ledger
Transmitted Monday, October 30, 2006

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