“Vote for Me and I’ll Set You Free.” – The Temptations
The elections are coming! There’s no way to miss it. I have enough ads in my mailbox to keep my fireplace stocked until Spring.
The ads are exhausting and relentless! I just want to watch TV. That’s hilarious. What was I thinking? Of course TV is rife with commercial interruption. Commercials have always been the bane of TV viewing. But are they getting worse?
Of course there’s the obvious one-sided smearing of the candidate’s opponent. The unattractive black and white blurred photos of the opponent, the self portrayal of the candidate talking with a group of actors portraying “citizens”, and the posed color portraits of the political hopeful romping through a field of daisies with his delightful children.
My biggest problem is how predictable it all is. I suppose after 50 years of exposure to this industry, one can become calloused to the tactics used. We see what’s going on here. We’re wise to them. Just listen to the catch phrases. The other guy is always the “political” guy, the “partisan politician”, putting “politics ahead of the people”, guilty of “personal attacks”.
But me? I’m “standing for the American people”, I’m “grass roots”, and I’m all about “family values”. “Lower taxes”. “Apple freakin’ pie”.
We know it’s coming. We can almost recite it. Is there anybody in the world with an ounce of marketing savvy to make these ads somehow appealing or engaging in any way at all? I’m beginning to fear the worst.
We are rightly urged to vote, but without diligent and lengthy research on issues and the candidates’ platforms, we are voting blindly. All we really have are the images and impressions from TV, literature and internet. I don’t like to admit it, but I’ve literally voted for a railroad commissioner because he had a funny name. I just didn’t know either guy. And I’m sorry.
While there’s no way we can ever really fully know the candidates’ true motives and intentions, we can do the best we can. This is the system we have. So let’s make an effort to know what’s going on. Vote. Pray. We’re blessed with the privilege.
But I’m begging. On behalf of “The American People”. Will somebody please figure out a way to make these campaigns a little less tortuous? We are pummeled daily. A root canal sounds more attractive. At least you know it will end.
Can some kind soul find it in their heart to present a candidate in an engaging, creative, and believable light? Just something different. We have so many words at our disposal. To continue to use these same old cliches, predictable catch phrases and tired semantics is so wearisome. It’s beneath us. I wish somebody would give us some credit.
Of course, how much credit do you give a guy who votes for funny names?