straight talk after the election

I’ll admit… I enter into today’s post with an inkling of fear and trepidation. Ok, not really. I’m simply aware that some will passionately disagree with the point of today’s post. And that‘s ok. The truth is that disagreement is not a negative. Disagreement makes us better — if we allow it — sharpening us, respectfully learning from varied perspective.

With America’s midterm election thankfully behind us (not a fan of the plethora of negative campaigning), I find myself with tremendous peace. Not because it went much the way I wanted or did not. My faith simply resides in something far more powerful than politics.

I am, though, genuinely curious about what happens and always eager to learn about what we the people want.

What I think we most want is a government that serves the people well and maintains a secure, orderly society. How that actually occurs is where the disagreement lies. Again, disagreement can make us better! But the disagreement has become so insolently amplified, that our ability to serve the people well and maintain that desired society has been grossly impeded.

In order to do that, in my opinion, we need wiser people representing us. 

Friends, sit with me a minute on this. We're going to talk people — not policy.

I am deeply uncomfortable with the abundance of unethical behavior we see from those who wish to represent us. Let us be respectfully specific and soberly clear.

Start with Pres. Trump — and feel free here to like him or loathe him, as many do. But I am not a fan of his blatant disrespect of certain others nor his self-aggrandizing, braggadocios claims. Hopefully, after yesterday‘s results and rebuke, he and his most ardent supporters will be more humble and honest.

I was also not a fan of Pres. Biden — feel free to like or loathe as well. I was not a fan of his inability to perform menial tasks nor the many ways creatively manufactured to cover it up. Hopefully, after the past two years to reflect, he and his most ardent supporters will be more honest and humble.

While some are more comfortable with one or the other, finding one or the other to be the lesser of two evils, so-to-speak, I find both to be marked by ample unethical behavior — supported by the parties they claim to represent.

It’s thus much of what currently gives me pause — and why I personally struggle to wholeheartedly advocate for a singular political party.

While the unethical behavior does not come from all Democrats and Republicans, it comes from both Democrats and Republicans.

For example, leading up to yesterday’s election…

Ohio gubernatorial candidate, Republican Vivek Ramaswamy ran a $4 million ad campaign that featured the estranged mother of his Democrat opponent, Amy Acton. Acton was a victim of sexual abuse as a child, with her stepfather charged years ago. In the ad, her mother called her daughter a liar and urged voters to oppose her. This wasn’t just awful; this felt cruel. Yet to show that this wasn’t limited to the Ramaswamy campaign, Pres. Trump repeatedly spoke in favor of the controversial, cruel advertisement.

Also, Alaskan Senate candidate, Democrat Mary Peltola and her campaign solicited a random candidate to run against her who has the same name as her Republican opponent, Dan Sullivan. The idea was to stack the ballot in order to confuse voters. Peltola denies any knowledge, although the left-leaning New York Times reports otherwise, having text messages and more to assert her deceit. Yet to show that this wasn’t limited to the Peltola campaign, the Times also reports that the national Democratic Senatorial Campaign was involved in crafting the scheme.

Friends, the reason I struggle with supporting one party 100% is because I feel like the choice is often: who’s the least unethical? That feels like being “kind of pregnant.” You’re either pregnant or you’re not; you’re either unethical or you’re not. And a lack of ethics will never be descriptive of one we can trust to serve us well and maintain a secure, orderly society.

May we learn from yesterday. May we all embrace humility. And may we cling to the wisdom that unethical behavior should not be excused, regardless of where it comes from.

Respectfully…

AR