| A Word from the Rector |
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From the September "Good News": Dear Friends, There seems to be a temporary lull in the political mudslinging. It has been particularly nasty in the recent campaigns, and I’ve heard from friends in other parts of the country that some of the races here in Florida got national attention for their nastiness. It’s easy to point fingers at the politicians and blame them for the negativity rather than seriously engaging the issues that face us. But I’m more concerned with what this says about us as a people. Let’s face it, the politicians run these ads for one simple reason: they work. They have marketing experts who study what motivates peoples’ choices in the ballot box and sadly, we are often more motivated to vote against someone rather than for. A Facebook friend of mine recently posted a link to an obituary (not his). His reason for posting it was the closing line of the obit: “In lieu of flowers and in memory of Bob’s humorous outlook on life, please feel free to make contributions to whoever may be running against Obama in 2012.” While we may or may not chuckle at the attempted humor, my point is the assumption that it is more important to vote against one candidate than to vote for a candidate whose positions one actually believes in and whose record is commendable.
If we want politicians to stop running negative ads, then we the people need to stop letting them have the desired effect. That means we’ll need to work a little harder. It’s easy to hear a negative sound bite, or a 30 or 60 second spot and remember that. It is more difficult to follow a sustained line of reasoning, read position papers, etc. Most of the candidates have their positions, etc. available on their websites, but it takes time and effort to find them, read them, and understand them. The sad truth is that most of us are content to hear something negative, make a snap judgement, and vote based on that. But we can do better. Of course, St. John’s is not going to change the climate of American politics. But we can each do our part. We can do the extra work to make our choices on the positions and commitments that matter to us. We can decline to be a part of the climate of negativism in our conversations, our jokes, our voting. We can talk about the issues that matter, not the scandals and mud. “Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Philippians 4:8) Though it may seem far away, we can strive to live up to St. Paul’s call, even in our political lives. In Christ, Fr. Eric Turner |
