Campaign Reform...

I have to admit that all this continuous campaigning gives me a huge headache. In the end, I can never recall hearing anything of substance. All I hear is bashing of the opponent. Where will that get us? Campaigning should be all about the issues and problems facing our country and a specific plan about how each candidate will tackle those issues. I don’t mean talking in generalities either. I want specific details. All this “he said, he said” business is just a waste of time.

I think there should be some campaign reform. I will be the first to admit I don’t know what I am talking about, but I am still going say something. First of all, there should be a limit or cap on how much each candidate can spend on their campaign. It should be an equal and reasonable amount of money, so that we hear more or less the same amount of BS from both sides. If they had a limited amount to spend, maybe they would be more creative in their approach to reach voters. They would have to pare down their rhetoric to what voters need to hear instead of “anything he can do I can do better” talk. They don’t have to jump on each other’s stupid remarks because the media already does a great job of accentuating the negative. The comedians poke fun at them and social media online run with the ball. You can’t miss a thing these days. So cap the amount of money spent, with an independent accounting firm keeping track of it all, AND tell us what we need to know with that money!

The next thing I would insist on is that candidates have to tell the truth. Not their version of the truth. Not a PR spin on the truth. The unvarnished truth or as close to it as they can get. We should require it and insist on it. It should have to pass Maury Pauvich’s lie detector test. Candidates should not be allowed to lie to the voters or tell half truths. How can we be expected to make an informed decision when all our information is fabrication? Back when our forefathers were running, things were simpler, and yet I’m sure there were some underhanded things going on when it came to elections. But look how far we have come? We have gotten so much more sophisticated at lying and covering things up. So clever at making scandalous things disappear. So masterful as to create illusions of heroes out of ordinary men. Why does it have to be so complicated? Maybe because we can no longer find an honest man with nothing to hide to run for office? Maybe if we found one he wouldn’t be able to win an election because it requires too much deceit?

I don’t know about you, but I appreciate knowing the truth, yet there seems to be nowhere we can find that. The truth is now in the eyes and ears of the beholder. Even today’s journalists and news media have abandoned the truth, probably for higher ratings and more money. Money is, after all, the root of all evil. So they sensationalize stories and report them, before all the facts are even in. Who cares if they are wrong? They will just print or issue a retraction, but meanwhile the story “sold.” We should demand more and be able to expect more from the press. Freedom of the press was not meant to spread lies, but to spread accurate information. It’s being abused.

Our country was founded on strong principles and values that have gone to hell in a hand basket. There are no more Walter Cronkites reporting the news. There are no more “honest” Abraham Lincolns running for President. We are told lies, we vote for the lesser of two evils. Something really has to change. The truth is a fundamental and necessary value that is lacking everywhere you turn today. Let’s get back to it…the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth!

The Truth...

One of the first and most important things my mother wanted to instill in my brother and I was to always tell the truth, no matter what it is. She promised us if we told the truth we wouldn’t get into trouble. She said that telling a lie was worse than anything wrong we could possibly do. We believed her. When we did something wrong, our conscience would bother us and we went to her with the truth and promptly got yelled at and punished. When we protested that we told the truth so as not to get in trouble, she would answer “This is nothing compared to what I would have done had you lied.” Consequently, since we didn’t know how bad it could get, we still told the truth and took our punishments. Still it didn’t seem fair. And yet, I raised my own girls with that same line of thinking because it seemed to work for us. It also worked on my girls. I always told my girls the truth and expected the same in return. It was just understood.

Of course children don’t really understand how telling the truth is not just about being honest and forthcoming and owning your mistakes. They won’t fully understand how telling the truth builds trust in your relationships till years later. It’s hard to get that concept across at an early age. And, Lord knows, we want to be able to trust our children because they aren’t always going to be in our care 24/7. At some point they will go off to school and interact with others and things will happen. You want to be able to believe your child and trust that what they tell you is in fact the truth. It’s very hard to defend a child that is prone to lying, or to trust them to do the right thing. I think it was very wise of my mother to make telling the truth an important issue in our family, and it was a value we learned before setting foot in school.

As I grew up I have met and gotten to know many different people. I appreciate those who are straight shooters and tell the truth no matter what it might be. I feel like I can trust them and have confidence that if I ask them their opinion I am going to get the truth. Some people like to go around the bush before getting to the truth. I really never cared for that approach. Maybe they are trying to be tactful or sensitive, but sometimes their message is lost or watered down in all their finesse. I prefer that they deliver their message bluntly than tip toe around it trying to make it sound better. Others are just liars or they exaggerate the truth until it is unrecognizable. I don’t tolerate lies well. I would never trust someone who makes a habit out of lying or twisting the truth. They are being dishonest and untrustworthy and you really can never believe anything they have to say, so why bother continuing a relationship with them? 

Another thing about telling the truth to someone is to consider your intentions. I always feel that if my intentions are good, then the person needs to know. I would feel terrible if I withheld information and something bad were to happen. I would feel responsible. I would rather the person were angry with me for telling them the truth, than for something bad to happen because they didn’t have all the information to consider. That is the personal rule I have used my whole life and so far no one has gotten angry with me.

The main thing I live by is “the truth always comes out.” It doesn’t even make sense to lie in the first place. You not only have to keep track of your lies and have a good memory, but in the end the truth will always reveal itself.