Royal Purple

Issue date: 10/15/08 Section: Opinion

Vlisides [Click to enlarge]

Barack Obama is not America's salvation. That being said, neither is John McCain.

Our image-obsessed culture turns to the outlines of these men to give it the hope for America's future. We waste no time in glorifying the presidential and vice presidential candidates, as if they can single-handedly solve the proliferating problems of this nation. Take away these candidate's intellect, experience and platforms and they're just average people.

Stances on issues and voting records should have the spotlight over party loyalty and candidate likeability when deciding who one's voting for.

It's no surprise, though, a nation addicted to finding worth in one's outward appearance supports a candidate based on characteristics like gender and race, two aspects more prominent in the current presidential election than any prior.

Not to say, race and gender inhibit a candidate or person, but, while differing races and genders present a unique perspective, they aren't going to make a candidate's policies any better or worse.

It's also no surprise the UW-Whitewater College Republicans letter to the editor in last week's issue displayed a fierce, one-sided attack on the oh-so-sinister "left" based on one opinion column questioning Sarah Palin's abilities as a vice president. Partisan politics, a sin both democrats and republicans commit, sway people from seeing the real issues at hand.

Vilifying one political group, no matter what position they are on the political spectrum, is a dangerous habit because it detracts from investigating an issue unbiased.

Most anyone in or around the political arena has found themselves ungraciously slandering the other side in hopes to confirm their own beliefs about their superior morals and values, but the truth is, getting lost in this rhetoric does nothing but hurt the democracy so many are striving for.

I'm not going to sit here and tell you what my neighbor said about Obama's ears, or the fact that my roommates consider Palin a "VPilf" (you do the math on that one.) Likewise, I'm not going to tell you to vote for a specific candidate, because their separate platforms can speak volumes I couldn't even begin to.

Continued...

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