Let's not be so negative

I was talking with a friend the other day about the sad state of political campaigns in this country. Every election cycle, political commercials seem to degenerate into character assassination. If you watched, read or listened to the plethora of political ads about the Illinois Senate race this year, the choice is between the “liar” and the “mob banker.” Some choice.

The election has once again come down to the lesser of two evils and the lesser of two evils is still evil. No wonder so many people are turned off by politics.

Political discourse has evolved into name calling in countless elections across the country. In Kentucky, the religious beliefs of one candidate have been viciously attacked. When is it going to stop?

What if we passed a law that in political commercials and ads you could only focus on yourself and your positions on the issues? Wouldn't that be refreshing? Why does negative campaigning have to dominate the air waves and print media and then hide behind the First Amendment guarantee of free speech? Freedom of speech is not license to say anything that you want. Common decency should prevail.

Hopefully, the U.S. Supreme Court will recognize this fact when they decide the Westboro Baptist Church free speech case.

Tom Jones

Pingree Grove