Thank goodness the election is getting closer. It will be a relief to see the end of political ads for a while.
According to historians, there have been nastier, more divisive elections in the past. Abraham Lincoln, for example, faced especially cruel and harsh personal criticism.
This year's campaign season, however -- which seems to have a half-life of 100 years -- has to be in the top 10 most annoying and disagreeable election cycles ever, certainly the worst in living memory.
We mention this because the final frenzy approaches.
Non-stop political ads stream on T.V. Many of them run what seems like a billion times a day. Newspapers pontificate, radio hosts opine and the Internet overflows with bloggers anxious to give us the benefit of their wisdom.
From Facebook to mass e-mail campaigns to sky-writing and restaurant place mats, everywhere you turn there are political advertisements making outlandish claims.
We're making this up, but it won't surprise us if, before it's over, someone accuses Mitt Romney of being on the grassy knoll in Dallas, and Barrack Obama is implicated in Jimmy Hoffa's disappearance.
The great challenge is just before us, shaking free of group think and taking individual action -- by which, of course, we mean voting.
At the risk of disillusioning you, it's important to remember not everything in print or on a computer screen is the truth -- there is a huge difference between propaganda and hard news.
The same is true of television -- don't let the talking heads in living color fool you.
Make up your own mind.
Rely on news reports instead of editorials. Ignore all superlatives and exclamation marks. Be wary of a candidate's mother's praise, or a former boss' endorsement.
On the other hand, pay attention to details, like who creates and pays for an ad.
For example -- and again we're making this up -- if an ad claims Romney will ban all pickle making in the country, and it's paid for by the CGDC (the Cucumber Growers Democratic Caucus), double check the facts. Likewise, if an ad claims Obama will declare the house fly an endangered species, and the ad is brought to you by the RCIM (the Republican Coalition of Insecticide Manufacturers), be suspicious.
Do your own homework.
Do your own thinking.
Make up your own mind instead of being led.
Sunday, October 14, 2012 - www.newssun.com/edt-101412