The little ghouls and goblins will be arriving on our doorsteps in just a few days, providing a welcome distraction from the unsettling ghouls and goblins in politics.
Honestly, I'd prefer a horror mask any day over the monstrosity of modern political campaigns in America. The constant barrage of ads, relentless fearmongering and degrading insults are utterly exhausting. I often dream of a time when elections are based on dignity, honesty and the genuine beliefs of each candidate. But alas, reality keeps waking me up.
Political loyalty shouldn’t cost us our character
These harsh attack ads are an insult to our intelligence. We all know that deep political divisions bring out the worst in human nature. It seems that we are willing to disregard our upbringing, our faith and our core values in an instant
when our chosen political side is challenged. We often forget that God sees and hears everything. Why do we temporarily believe that our worst behaviors are somehow acceptable in the political arena?
Folks, it is time for a break.
We need sanity and good behavior back in our lives. We need to repair our souls. I am not entirely sure how we became such willing lemmings in creating this massive cultural divide, but we certainly fell for it hook, line and sinker.
It is perfectly acceptable to be loyal to the political party of your choice, that is part of the American way. However, when that loyalty leads us to be antagonistic, dismissive and even cruel to others, we have strayed from our principles. When did we decide that winning a political argument was more important than maintaining our character?
A childhood lesson worth remembering
When I was a child, I often acted like one.
I would yell, throw a toy or two, and blame my brother for everything that went wrong. At times, I was quite petulant. However, my mother managed to teach me a lesson one day by simply ignoring my outbursts. I intentionally asked her an inflammatory question to provoke a reaction, but she calmly hummed through the conversation as if I weren't even there.
"Mom, you are ignoring me!" I exclaimed.
She paused, looked at me, and replied, "Well, until you can speak with respect, I will pay no attention to you."
She was serious about it. Whenever my voice or behavior crossed the line, she completely tuned me out. As adults, if we practiced that same discipline, refusing to engage with those who try to provoke us, we might finally put an end to the divisive and uncivil actions that spark conflict.
Why do we tolerate political behavior we reject elsewhere?
During a football game, unnecessary roughness or abusive language will quickly get a player ejected. Why is it not the same in the political arena? Why are we continually making the unacceptable acceptable?
I am continually shocked by the language people use online when discussing modern politics. My grandfather would have grabbed a bar of Ivory soap if any of us had used even the mildest curse word in conversation.
If he were alive today, he would need a huge stockpile of Ivory in the woodshed. Perfect strangers resort to abusive language online and feel completely justified in doing so based on their personal voting preferences.
We increasingly forget that our words and temperament reveal our own character, regardless of whom we are addressing.
This reckless use of language is not acceptable. When did we start believing it was? Can a bar of soap cleanse our dirty mouths and judgmental thoughts? No, it requires a change of heart.
The midterms will end. How we treat people will remain.
Recently, someone told me, "Lynn, you can try, but you just can't make people nice."
My response is straightforward: Why do we feel the need to be unkind in the first place? What drives us to demean and bully others? What purpose does it serve when goodness takes a backseat in our character?
In a few days, Halloween will be over. The costumes will be packed away, and children will immediately begin shifting their focus toward their Christmas lists. The midterms, too, will soon be over. But the way we treat one another will remain long after the neighborhood campaign signs finally come down.
Perhaps it is time we hung up our ugly political behavior right alongside our monster masks. When we sit down to make our upcoming Christmas lists, maybe we should begin by asking for a little more kindness, a little more respect and a little more peace.
Or perhaps it is just a dream.
Lynn Walker Gendusa is a writer in Georgia and the author of the book "Southern Comfort." She is originally from Monterey, Tennessee.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Political attack ads are ugly. We don’t have to be | Opinion
