THE VERY BEST
I have, I think, always been proud of my home state of Virginia. She is a state of special, merited recognition - first in many situations, and with scores of recommendations -a good place to live and to raise a family, but as of this Fall of 2005 I find that I cannot condone our Governmental election procedures.
I don't think I have ever taken part in an election which was so unpleasant, violent a process steeped in so many crude accusations. It is, I think, the first time I have felt genuine shame and disgust with the way in which the political campaigns for the various state offices being considered. Party affiliation makes no different in the situation this year, either. One does it; and, then, the other side does it and it seems to become the pattern and no one will admit to having started the vile sequence of exchanging increasingly worse insults.
The final days of the election have become somewhat blurred during these final days of the sometimes, almost farcical process and I have felt genuine embarrassment when exposed to some of the material in the presence of other adult men and women. One such candidates actually accused opponent of “dragging my religious beliefs through the mud.” There has been far too much emphasis upon legislation, either pending or promised,. concerning sex offenders – which happened to be a hot subject right now and the offenders are all to be jailed exceeding our limited capacity. Each candidate accuses the other of laxity on crimes, such as allowing convicts to sue the state at fabulous cost. This election of 2005 will, I'm sure, be entered in my record book of such memories as the worst I have, as yet, experienced.
Part of the feeling of electioneering gone wild comes to us through a greatly expanded and influential media. In the past, you may remember when a candidate announced, the fields, trees, telephone poles, ad signs, sidewalks and lawns exploded with red-white-and-blue signs announcing his intentions. Radio came along to play an important role, which it still does, and television has moved in as the mainstay of all campaigns with newspaper support. Those statements previously made by candidates to small, often changing groups, are now placed with startling precision over huge coverage areas – repeated and repeated until there seems to be no end to it all! The manner in which we go about selecting our governmental leaders only vaguely resembles what it used to be under such pressures as are common today.
A.L.M. November 2, 2005 [c439wds]
