Positive Politics

You know, I don't like to be negative. In my opinion, unwarranted negativity towards self or others is unnecessary in most situations, and personal attacks should almost always be kept to yourself. Lashing out is unproductive and frankly annoying, even to myself.

And that extends to my politics; if a politician hasn't done something egregiously wrong (like cheat on his wife or exhort/bilk the public out of lots of money illegally), I see no reason to hate him, unless what he's done is directly opposite to what he's claimed or promised (such as being a family values guy and having an affair). Using personal attacks is both pointless and demeaning. Pointless because if it's such a big issue it'll sink your opponent without your input. Demeaning because for goodness sake, wading into the mud of personal attacks and negativity is like a fight in a grade-school sandbox; nobody wins, and it lowers respect (self and otherwise) among everyone involved.

No, I prefer positivity in politics; don't demean others, build up yourself. Don't personally attack others; extol the virtues of your viewpoint. You shouldn't build up a campaign of demonization against an opposing political viewpoint, instead build a narrative of prosperity and happiness if the people chose your path. Say "Look at what I have done" and "Look at what I will do", rather than "Look at what my opponent is".

Everybody knows that politics in the US are screwed up, and one of the reasons is that we're so negative towards each other. In our politics, personal attacks (even if true) fly like candy from a pinata; every gets some. So why don't we collectively take a deep breath and stop flinging mud at each other; we're humans, not animals. Build up ourselves and our friends/allies; don't claim that our opponents are one step away from a demon.

It irritates me that those on the right AND left feel the need to negatively attack each other; have criticism sure, but don't say, accuse an opponent of being a fascist, or of imposing a twisted will upon your city/state/country. It's annoying, demeaning to all involved, and boring.

Just a quick post, but I felt I should say this.