If you live long enough you will likely know that 2016 was not the ugliest electoral cycle we have ever faced! I have only voted for 6 presidents, spanning 40-plus years but I have been interested in political history for some time now. I am particularly interested in presidents.
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| Synonyms to HATE |
I read that Jackson carried more lead into the Office of the Presidency than any other because of the many times he challenged his opponents to a physical pistol duel. He challenged more than 100 men to a duel, killing one!
Political slogans through history will make you chuckle today but hard fought campaigns will surprise many! There have been times in history when the battle was not only ugly & personal but also dangerous! Read more here!
Today I remind us that we have been here before! In 2020, let’s adjust our vision to see the heart of others! We might think that our most recent years are the worst but history tells a different story. Take Adams and Jefferson as an example. Perhaps the first of many negative campaigns contains the following exchange:
Jefferson's camp accused President Adams of having a "hideous hermaphroditical character, which has neither the force and firmness of a man, nor the gentleness and sensibility of a woman." In return, Adams' men called Vice President Jefferson "a mean-spirited, low-lived fellow, the son of a half-breed Indian squaw, sired by a Virginia mulatto father." Read more.
My point is not the we would accept such rhetoric today. It is so discussing that the hard fought battle can belittle mankind! It is brutal and not for the faint-hearted and weak.
We take everything that is said from one candidate to another as if the words spoken are directed personally at us. We seem to be insulted and hurt by what candidate say to each other.
We seem to act like we are victims when what is said is not even directed personally at us! I have to ask, why do we make it so personal? Read more on Stop Taking Things Personal.
I have to ask why the bitter exchange of words meant as attacks to their opponent become our fight? Why do we internalize the sharp, hostile words of people we don’t even know. They certainly don’t know me (or you)!
They (the political candidates) are really not rooting for each other. That is the name of the political game! Yet, they are neither speaking negatively at me (or you)!
Why do we take those insults, hostile expressions, and negative remarks as word-weapons against each other?
I am writing this to challenge everyone to take a chill-pill about what candidate say to each other! The comments said are meant to belittle and distract the competition not meant to be taken personally.
I think that we are so on-edge that we quickly want to add to the slurs and insults with a few of our own! We seem to find reasons to hate!
I think that we are so quick to jump on the parade of insults and emotional reactions and we become offended to the point of hate!
I think that as candidate exchange childish words and actions that we too find it easy to spread the same insults, jokes, anger, and hate! Yet, we have to be bigger than that!
I think that it is time for the rest of us (outside of Washington) to NOT take it so personal and focus on the values that we hold most important and that includes having a civil discourse through healthy debate!
After all, it is best to debate ideas because it provides the best solutions. It is time for us to stop mimicking the talking points of the media, read a little more, and listen to what people are really saying. Let’s NOT get ticked-off at the headlines and Facebook posts but have real conversations that protect humanity!
H-A-T-E hurts and never heals. I think that too many of us are filled with attitudes and feelings of hate. Political leaders persuade us to be angry, an emotion that wins us to their side that if unchecked can produce bitterness, rage, and hate.
Let’s resist this trap in 2020! Let’s move past the headlines! Let’s stop shooting AT each other and start speaking WITH each other!
Sure, hold to your position and values but let’s show Washington & our elected officials that WE are able to solve problems; just like we always have done in the past. We can sit around around a table and a cup of coffee, acting like a healthy family, solving problems by debating yet holding to the most important of values, love and respect. I enjoy reading contrasting views on Trump as a person and leader. I know he is not perfect but his policies are consistent to my values. Read more related to this here with the response from Christianity Today’s editorial by Galli.. We will come up with better outcomes and solutions if we are willing to listen!
In 2020, let’s stop listening to the candidates and start listening to one another. Let’s stop mimicking the talking points and headlines and let’s instead start asking questions that allows for good exchange of information that informs!
