Primary election laments and hopes

For most of my life I have heard people lamenting the current state of our politics. It has been a frequent subject for conversation in the coffee shops. It is a recurring theme in newspapers, and on radio and television. It is the reason that some people refuse to talk politics or religion, because they don't see any really constructive way of engaging in the conversation. Political discussions almost always are controversial. Few people see eye to eye over every issue. Sometimes we lament the mudslinging that campaigns resort to. Sometimes we lament the choices that are presented us, seeing no candidate or no available framing of an issue that we really want to endorse or to get behind with conviction and loyalty.

I like to be a positive and optimistic person, and to be one who focuses on ways to resolve problems, rather than focusing on blaming the problems on somebody, or just griping about them. But I have some laments, too. Mine are not always the same laments which I hear talked about, but they are definitely laments. One of my laments is that political campaigns are so long. Our primary season for selecting the parties' candidates is exceedingly long. It is so long, that I think it contributes to the generally negative mood and attitude across the country toward political activity in a democracy, and especially toward politicians and the level of respect which they inspire. States vie for the best times, conceived as their opportunities to exert the greatest possible influence on the selection of candidates, and as opportunities to impact the polls as much as possible. The long, long campaigns contribute to the constant attention to how candidates are polling, and what fodder they are giving pundits to talk about interminably on television. I'd like to see the season of primary elections shortened considerably, maybe to just two or three months. Let's give the candidates time to get their views out there, then let's vote, and let's select our candidate. I'd like to see less of the long, strung-out, primary season in which some candidates drop out too early because they haven't done well in Iowa, or in New Hampshire. In our recent series of primaries, some candidates (who I thought were promising) dropped out before many of their supporters in later state primaries had an opportunity to cast a vote for them! Further, long primary seasons contribute to the exaggerated place of money in present day political campaigns. The monster dollars spent on attack ads in today's campaigning is hugely dismaying and lamentable.

One of my bigger lamentations is one which is difficult to address, and difficult to express persuasively. That is, our political climate today is characterized by an exceedingly negative view of politics, and an exceedingly negative view of politicians, especially toward what is often derisively referred to as "career politicians." Although in time past our country has had some significant leaders who served their country and their constituencies long and well, there seems to be a growing mood which sees all politicians as only out to stuff their own pockets by taking advantage of their positions. The helpful habit of seeing politicians as public servants has dwindled and suffered across the years. Term limits laws have sprung up almost everywhere, based on the idea that political leaders can only be trusted for very short periods, expecting that they will inevitably soon succumb to the corruptions of lobbyists and special interests, and before long will be no good. The idea seems to have grown that governmental leaders can be people of integrity only if they have no prior governmental experience. We seem to be accepting the self-contradictory idea that a business man or an actor or a reality TV star can run for office with the claim that they are not "politicians" and that their inexperience and lack of knowledge are commendable and good. In what other occupations in our society would we see a job candidate who lacks experience and lacks relevant knowledge as a preferable prospect over someone who has experience, knowledge, and demonstrated skill? As I see it, when a person starts running for an office, they are thereby "a politician." The idea that you are not a politician because you have not been one before is a vast misunderstanding. We need to regain the sense that "politician" is an honorable term, that people who serve are to be respected, and we need to reinvest ourselves in the importance and the honor of public service in our communities, our state, and our nation.

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Editor's note: Jerry Nichols, a native of Pea Ridge, is an award-winning columnist, a retired Methodist minister with a passion for history. He is vice president of the Pea Ridge Historical Society. He can be contacted by e-mail at [email protected], or call 621-1621.

General News on 06/15/2016