You know it is election season when you hear the same stupid slogans over and over again, to the point you are about to barf! Presidential candidate Donald Trump touts, “Make America Great Again!” as if we know exactly what that means!
Does that translate to more tax breaks for the wealthy one percent–including himself? Does it mean more money for the Department of Defense, which already is getting 58 cents of every tax dollar? Does it mean, “Bring back the good ol’ days of the 50’s”? Yes, those “good” days when schools and lunch counters were segregated, and women were relegated to being secretaries, nurses, and teachers.
No patriotic American would challenge the premise of “making America great.” But, “again” clearly implies that somewhere along the line, we stopped being great. Do you agree with that unspoken premise? Trump’s mantra is an empty slogan, that allows anyone to read into it whatever suites their fancy. Like all the other slogans, it offers no solution to anything.
Election season also is the time for serious omissions. Illinois Representative Mike Smiddy merely voted “Present,” on Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives Michael Madigan’s two billion dollar deficit budget. Missing is the fact that Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner vetoed the extension of the State income tax sur-tax, that would have brought in two billion dollars to the State coffers. Missing is the fact that by vetoing it, he gave himself a huge tax break! Does that make you want to barf?
Politicians, selling false cure-alls like Lydia Pinkam’s Medicinal Compound, tell us only what they want us to hear. We have to ask, “What might they be leaving out?”
Madigan’s budget would not have cut the funds for Senior programs, women’s shelters, homeless shelters, etc., that Rauner’s tax break caused. I’d gladly pay a little more in taxes, if it meant the hungry are fed, and the homeless are sheltered. It’s called the Christian ethic.
Election season is the season for the big lie technique. “Blame Bill Clinton forNAFTA.,” they claim. Ignore the fact that the treaty was signed into law by President George H. W. Bush over a month before Clinton took office. Ignore the fact that President Clinton cited deficiencies in the treaty that hurt American workers and asked Congress tocorrect them–but the Republicans refused. “Blame President Obama for ISIS.” Ignorethe fact that President George W. Bush negotiated the withdrawal of U. S. forces fromIraq, and he signed that treaty. “Damn the fact checkers.” “That’s just media bias.” Fact: such claims are a sure sign it’s election season.)
Election season is the season to plant stories in a slightly dishonest way. I get The American Legion magazine. On the cover, “America’s Shrinking Military.” Page 24, “Our Incredible Shrinking Military” by Mackenzie Eaglen, begins four pages, where she argues that we need to spend drastically more money on our military. Not mentioned is that currently, we spend 58 cents out of every tax dollar on our military. Not mentioned is the fact that we spend more on our military, than the next ten Nations with big military establishments. Worse, there was no disclosure that she is a Resident Fellow at the Marilyn Ware Center for Security Studies, at the American Enterprise Institute. This is a right-wing “think tank,” with members who lobby part-time for the defense industry (according to a New York Times article.) Do I sense a bias in her arguments?
Yes, election season is a busy time for lobbyists. So, instead of being annoyed by electioneering phone calls, we need to be aware that those trying to influence our vote may be slightly less-than-honest. We need to
- get past the slogans.
- get the whole truth.
- ignore the lies.
- look for the facts.