Children!

That’s It! I’ve Sussed it! I have finally put my finger on why all these damned political ads REALLY bother me so much! I had my epiphany this morning, watching ads for one of the local races battle it out for an entire break!

At first, I had thought that I was bothered by the fact that none of them seem to have a truth content of more than about 50%. But then I realized that I have been in broadcasting so long, that I really should not be surprised that commercials tell half-truths.

Then I thought, that it was because it was a sign of the decline of our democracy that the only way to get a politician into office is by pandering to the lowest and nastiest parts of the human psyche. And while that still seems right to me, that isn’t it either.

It came to me this morning as one of the breaks in the local news was given over entirely to two commercials – no, not two long commercials, multiple copies of the same two commercials. The break went from a slur by the Republican of the Democrat, to one of the Republican by the Democrat. We then were treated to a second and third repetition of the same two candidates slanging each other in the same break. (Of course, the broadcaster in me wondered how their traffic system allowed such a bad placement – then the concerned citizen in me pushed that thought aside and wondered how we could have degraded to a point where our politicians show less respect for each other than a pair of children would!

That is when I had my epiphany. These ads make the politicians sound like children! 

“Mine!”
 “No, mine, you poopy face!”
 “Nuh-uh! I’m gonna tell Mom!”
 (ad nausium from the back seat of the car…) 

Listening to the ads, I mentally pictured my Dad yelling from the driver’s seat for us to drop it before he had to pull the car over and make us get out!

That’s it! Perhaps the problem isn’t that there is too much money in the system, corrupting the whole system. Perhaps the problem is that the politicians themselves are children – squabbling over the only toy in the car! (Don’t make us pull this democracy over and put you two out!)

The problem here is that unlike the family car on my childhood vacations – there are only two to choose from! There is no “good child” politician to choose from because they’re both acting like spoiled brats. (Geez! Some people’s Children!) Until we have a viable third party to choose from, I that I can ask today is tis:

Wherever you are today, if you’d a politician, please – GROW UP!

Don Bergquist – Lakewood, Colorado, USA – October 14, 2014