Will you say no?

Over and over Americans criticize politicians for lacking substance, for avoiding specifics, and, when asked straight questions, for dodging them with vague and roundabout answers. We claim that we yearn for a politician that speaks straight with us or in detail about problems and proposed solutions and we are, rightfully so, quite frustrated when they fail to do so. We like to blame the political system for these outcomes but I believe we need to look in the mirror at our own actions first. I believe we get the politicians we deserve. But that can change.

With the fervor over things like the “bitter” comments and Bosnia; with a media based on 8-second sound bites on the evening news; and with political competitors waiting to pounce on any statement that can be twisted for advantage, we shouldn’t blame politicians for sticking 100% to a bland and scripted message. We, in fact, encourage exactly what we dislike. For those brave enough to attempt a spontaneous answer or for those willing to talk straight about a complex problem we allow the political process and the media to pounce and destroy them if any part of their answer can be misconstrued. We then jump on the pile with comments like “how could they possibly say something like that” or “what was he thinking” often without taking the time to read the original text or to understand the context in which the comment was made.



Think about your own life and the times you have made comments that didn’t come out quite right. Or think about the time you were appalled to overhear just part of a conversation only to learn that you greatly misunderstood the context of a particular statement. We’ve all been in these situations – it’s human. With candidates on the campaign trail nearly 24x7 for weeks on end, it’s no wonder they don’t provide even more fodder for their political enemies. But for the tight scripts we force them to stick too, they just might make some more mistakes. This is a shame. I wish they would “make more mistakes” as that would mean our candidates had left the tight script in an effort to have a true dialogue. If we allowed them some latitude to speak more freely or if we allowed them a slipup once in a while, maybe, just maybe we might actually have some real debate on issues that matter – like how to get jobs to return to towns that lost them 25 or more years ago. We might get politicians willing to talk about ideas and explore solutions that look impossible on the surface but could provide the real answer if only we could dig just a little deeper. But, alas, in our world of 8-second sounds, we don’t reward politicians who step off script. We destroy them instead.

When we allow a few spontaneous sentences from an impromptu question to undo months and years of good work, we are only encouraging the scripted and shallow politics we claim to dislike. If we want to do something about it, we have nowhere to look but in the mirror. But we can do something about it. At a speech by Hillary Clinton on Monday, some audience members took a stand that, I hope, is a sign of true change in American politics. When she began to attack her opponent over a few words taken out of context and when she tried to define someone’s entire being in terms of those few words, some in the crowd booed and yelled “no”. They expressed their frustration with this kind of politics. Will you do the same? Will you stand up and demand a new kind of politician that will forgo attacks and speak straight and in detail about plans?

It doesn’t matter which way you vote, but, if you allow attack ads, 8-second sound bites, and cherry-picked words to define a candidate and sway your vote, you are perpetuating a political system many claim to despise. When you instead allow a candidate to speak freely and explore issues and ideas, you will encourage an open and full debate that might just allow us to solve some of the vexing problems of our time. Each of us has a choice – will you chose to shout “no” to the next attack or will you simply jump on the pile?

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