I hate election time. Actually let me rephrase that. I hate what elections bring out in people.
At a national level, you see opposing candidates talking down to each other, denigrating health care plans, criticizing tax breaks and opposing critical social plans. They bring out past or present scandals, poorly-made decisions, and in some cases, secrets.
Even though I find those behaviors atrocious, I have to admit that I morbidly enjoy it because in some weird way, it allows me to form a more precise opinion of the candidates. This selection criteria is obviously not based on any scientific method that I can see. It’s just my humanity and rationale working together to try to humanize a person who I might never get a chance to see or sit with for a conversation in the course of my life.
Some people find my criteria idiotic. However, thus far, they have somewhat helped me in at least two ways. First, they push me to dig deeper and discover more facts about things being said about a particular candidate, good or bad. And they help me determine the direction of my vote.
And then, along come the elections, and all of sudden people become vicious with their attacks. There are really no boundaries.
But on the other hand, how dare I not vote when my people — women — were not allowed to vote for so long in this country. So despite my clear discomfort, I go and cast my ballot for the person I feel best represents me.
Now from a macro to a micro level, let’s look at local elections, because these are the ones that I find more detestable, and here is why.
For starters, most of the candidates, if not all, are people you know. Some are closer than others. In some cases you’ve met their family and children, and some you participate with them in multiple activities. And that makes it harder to choose one or the other.
In the case of Lynn, I consider all the candidates to be well-intentioned, and genuinely interested in making this city the best it can be. Even when I don’t agree with some of their particular stands on things, I always give them the benefit of the doubt. And know they keep Lynn in their best interest. So it is very difficult to listen to the things that are said and written about them.
I hate reading how lazy they are, how uneducated, or out of touch with reality they are, etc. I wonder if people simply choose to forget or ignore that we are a city that is facing a $14 million budget deficit, an opioid crisis and overcrowded schools, among multiple other challenges.
I would love to hear more about issues, and less about personalities. I would like to hear their political platforms instead of listening to personal attacks. I’m much more interested in learning about what these candidates bring to the table and how they plan to address the needs of this city than how they dress or speak. I mean, can we please focus on the issues and possible solutions instead gossiping?
Is that too much to ask?
