Be patient with me as I express my greatest implication with our election campaigns in modern America that we gladly embrace.
I’ll start with a short story about a longtime friend. Pat Moles was elected mayor of Harrison more than a decade ago – but not pestering supporters and voters for more and more contributions.
Instead, the Vietnam veteran, who is deeply disabled because of the injuries sustained in a fire base during the war, proved how much he wanted to serve his community.
He bought a substantial pair of thick-soled shoes and wore them, spending several weeks walking through the community and knocking on all doors.
Its aim was to find all possible voters and to seek their vote personally. When election day came, voters responded to his selfless commitment by electing him to a position.
Pat never really thought of himself as a “leader” as such, but more of a civil servant whose sole purpose was to act on behalf of those who elected him, which is exactly what he did.
Anyone looking for a position can borrow a page from Pat’s manual, even though I’m talking about politics in a smaller community. Still, I can’t help but compare where we are today with the never-ending race to constantly pull even the last dollar from potential supporters and voters.
There seems to be little that either party doesn’t do today in pleading and cursing for infinite dollars. Requests arrive hourly on social media. And heaven helps those who contribute, as their names are recorded forever in a contact list, where requests continue indefinitely. You saw it, I’m sure.
In short, it is apparently never enough when each dollar raised must equal or exceed the exorbitant total raised by the opposite party.
This adoration of money continues ad nauseum long before the last campaign for the presidential election begins. Hollywood, the academy and others recently sent many millions to the second round of the Senate on January 5 in Georgia, which triggered yet another panic from the Republican Party, which claimed relative poverty and instigated the fear of losing their two Senate seats as their own. main motivator to beg for more and more dollars.
No one mentions that about $ 100 million was spent on the unsuccessful attempt to oust GOP Sens. Lindsay Graham of South Carolina and Susan Collins of Maine. All those millions spent to defeat them were equivalent to what I like to say was an insignificant squat.
Their races were ultimately not decided on who had the biggest war chest. All that money didn’t seem to matter for a faded red penny. Instead, voters responded to the policies and actions of each candidate in office.
As we can see, the destructive role of money has corrupted our system of government. You still don’t believe me, do you? Just look at the “civil servants” who came to DC with relatively limited financial statements just to step down as multimillionaires.
The modern-day money rush only intensified with each election. It is not a positive sign for our future. We allow money and disgusting love for it to overshadow everything else in state and national disputes, as if each dollar donated in some way equates to one vote, which we have seen is far from true.
Of course, all of these contributions allow a candidate to buy more signs, advertising, travel and personnel. But, fortunately, reasonable and common-sense adult votes still exist to reason beyond the superficial fundraising parameters established by this insatiable (and love) quest for money.
I suspect that most independent-minded arcana (as opposed to blind followers of an ideology) know how we expect the vote in Georgia to happen on January 5 for the sake of our nation’s future, although obviously we have no horse in this race.
Meanwhile, Hollywood and its progressive ilk continue to inject huge amounts of profit into that state in a blatant attempt to influence the vote, which, of course, leads the Republican Party to beg for more and more.
It is a voracious and endless cycle that we live every day.
I have no doubt that our creators never imagined such a scenario when they established the process for free and fair elections to choose those who would represent our interests, rather than wealthy corporations, technology giants, foreign countries and other special interest groups with financial resources to buy influence in DC and elsewhere.
The shameful and contaminated mess is exclusively ours and only we can change it.
Here is a concept that is admittedly impractical (certainly in national or state elections), but relatively cheap. Why not check with former Mayor Moles to discuss his up-close and personal approach to reaching out to potential voters?
Weeks bringing together all the voters in his city of 13,000 inhabitants worked for him, and all it took was a pair of shoes (well, maybe two) and determination as he generated widespread respect and support to become a true public servant.
Christmas bounty
In this dark period enveloped in the metallic gray of a miserable pandemic, when good news can be hard to find, it is a ray of sunshine and hope to read about random acts of kindness that remind us that each of us has the option of compassion and empathy in everything we can do for others.
That’s why I liked Tom Sissom’s story the other day about the restaurant at Jose’s Bar and Grill in Tontitown leaving a $ 600 tip on his $ 17.70 bill.
History said that this generous tip, who did not want publicity for his feat, was by no means a wealthy person and supposedly worked two jobs to make his own expenses.
To me, this says that his $ 600 donation this time of year is a powerful gesture that aims to illuminate the lives of others that he rarely sees and barely knows.
He asked that his gift be shared among the waiters on duty when he was eating at the restaurant, which resulted in $ 100 each (yes, advanced math was my forte).
This is easily more than a day’s tip for most restaurant eaters. And it comes at a time of year (and under ambitious restrictions) when such consideration, without a doubt, can significantly help these workers.
I call this a good example of a person who treats others as if he wants to be treated.
And fortunately, just learning about this man’s selfless generosity helps to spread the Christmas spirit when we need empathy and generosity of spirit most.
There are other examples. I read that another generous soul from Arkansas unexpectedly paid for a stranger’s purchases at the Dollar General Store just because he could. Imagine the ripple effects of such pleasantries.
Now go out into the world and treat everyone you meet exactly how you would like them to treat you.
Mike Masterson is a longtime Arkansas journalist, editor of three Arkansas daily newspapers and directed Ohio State University’s master’s program in journalism. Send an email to [email protected].