In this Halloween season of ghouls and goblins, our favorite horror movies have been supplanted by creepy political ads. We fully expect our least favorite candidate to reprise the role of Freddy Krueger in a new sequel entitled “Nightmare on Pennsylvania Avenue.” Or perhaps that politician will emerge as the new Mad Max, running down a desolate highway in a post-apocalyptic world of their own making.
If you believe the grim political ads appearing on our screens in the middle of our favorite shows — and why wouldn’t you — the world may come to an end on November 5. What the campaign managers and producers of these dystopian advertisements fail to realize is that by dehumanizing their opponents they dehumanize all of us, including themselves. Sinister characterizations make villains of us all.
According to the American Psychological Association, 73% of Americans are suffering from anxiety about the upcoming election. It’s natural and understandable to feel apprehensive. We’re not sure what the villains on the other side of the firewall will do if elected.
Make no mistake, voting on Nov. 5 is very important. The choice could not be clearer.
I urge everyone reading these words to vote. And I urge everyone to vote based on reason, not resentment. Anger is an emotion, not a solution.
Yet life will go on the day after the election. Life may go on in a new political dynamic, but this state of political dysfunction has been going on for quite some time and is not likel.