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"We're seeing the ripple effects of the oil spill and the cessation of fishing activities right through the economy. I think we’re still on the ascending end of this. I wish I could report things are abating. On so many levels, it’s actually more of a struggle now."
- Iray Nabatoff, director of the Community Center of St. Bernard, a Second Harvest partner, said requests for food, clothing, assistance information, and computer laboratory sessions continue to rise. (Source: RNS/The Times-Picayune)
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We're Sick of the Attack Ads
Dear Candidate, Party Organization, PAC, Super-PAC or any committee that happens to be contributing to the non-stop political ads that have flooded my TV:
Give us all a break! We're sick of the attacks, the innuendos, the outright lies, and the prophecies of doom if the other candidate gets elected; and the same commercials over and over again. There is one week left before the election. Instead of filling the airwaves with noise, how about you give us all a chance to clear our heads and do some thinking? I'm pretty sure you have said everything you have to say and made all the arguments you can make. The only things the negative ads and robocalls are accomplishing at this point are annoying lots of people and wasting lots of money.
Every time I see a negative ad these days, I think one thing: What a waste! In such tough economic times, I cringe at all the money being spent on throwing mud at the other side. In fact, that gives me an idea: All of you who keep making arguments about why we should never trust the other side with our tax dollars -- how about you show us that you can be responsible with your own money now?
What if you took down all your negative ads, stopped the angry and poisonous mailings, cut it out with all of the robocalls, and took all the money you saved and gave it to the poor?
There are a lot of families hurting out there right now. If you want us to believe that you'll help them after you get elected, how about you start now? Take New Hampshire, for example. The Union Leader reported that $21 million will be spent on the race for a Senate seat during the primaries and general election -- and that's a conservative estimate. To put it in perspective, that adds up to $15.85 per resident or $33.23 for every expected voter. This is also enough money to send every unemployed New Hampshire resident a check for $555 or feed 1,000 homeless families of four for 14 years and 8 months.
Across the nation, House and Senate candidates' spending will exceed $2 billion. With a week left to go, spending by outside independent groups is already at $258 million. How many foreclosures could that money prevent? How many hungry children could be fed? How many unemployed people could be assisted?
We all know the reasons why no campaign manager or consultant would ever let this happen. The huge amounts of money being spent on campaigns and, specifically, on the most noxious ads is already disturbing; but when compared to what else that money could be spent on, it becomes downright offensive.
Ads at their best can be used to clarify and inform voters of policies and priorities at stake in an election. At their worst, they are used only to confuse, distort, and manipulate. Unfortunately, it just might be time to say to all those aspiring to national leadership, if you don't have anything nice (or at least not mean) to say, maybe you shouldn't say anything at all.
Oh, I know they're not going to take their ads down, so take my request/plea/demand to do so as a protest vote against the whole system that now distorts our very democracy. Many of us are just sick of it.
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ON THE GOD'S POLITICS BLOG |
+ See what's new on the blog of Jim Wallis and friends
Prison and Profits: The Politics of AZ’s SB1070 Bill Revealed
by Allison Johnson
What's behind Arizona's SB1070 law besides politics? Money, of course.
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Voting in Honor and Solidarity
by Valerie Elverton Dixon
When my children were young, I took them with me to vote. Before we went into the polling place, I said to them, "We vote because somebody died so we could have the right to vote."
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5 Books on the Nitty-Gritty of Nonviolence
by Rose Marie Berger
In the November issue of Sojourners, Rose Marie Berger reviews several books on nonviolence and how it has played out in the lives of its practitioners.
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Why I'm Not Tired of Reading About the Tea Party
by Claire Lorentzen
Understandably, many people are tired of reading about the Tea Party, but I'm not. Here's why.
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Honor Roll: KION Central Coast News
by God's Politics Editor
During this year's election season Santa Cruz's local news station KION Central Coast News, a subsidiary of CBS, has issued an open invitation to local candidates to come to the studio and promote their campaigns for election.
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Seeking Mercy (and Justice) in Mississippi
by Johnathan Smith
In 1994, Jamie and Gladys Scott were convicted in a Mississippi state court.
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Honor Roll: The Institute for Civility in Government
by Helen P. DeLeon
The Institute for Civility in Government, however, gives these students the opportunity to travel to D.C., and learn about civility in the political process.
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Holding Evangelism and Social Action in Tandem
by Adam Phillips
The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization in Cape Town, South Africa has been very clear: There is no dichotomy between evangelism of word and deed.
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Justice for All Means Justice for Gays and Lesbians
by Hannah Lythe
The church has often neglected, renounced, or castigated the LGBT community, discounting the men and women amongst us. We cannot skate across an issue because a history of denial has tainted our compassion.
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5 Books on Making Nonviolence Work in a Scary World
by Rose Marie Berger
Here are some more books about nonviolence that Berger recommends, these focused on history and strategy.
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Friday Links Round Up: The Simpsons. Ethnic Studies. Walter Brueggemann.
by Jeannie Choi
The Simpsons. Ethnic Studies. Walter Brueggemann. Here's a little round up of links from around the web you may have missed this week.
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Abuses of Faith in this Election Season
by Jim Wallis
You have to wonder -- when political ads focus on a college prank pulled by your opponent -- what else could that money have gone to?
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As Passionate as the Parisians
by Rose Marie Berger
They are rioting in Paris to prevent the government from resolving its debt crisis on the backs of the middle class.
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Top Stories:
Civility out of fashion
Kansas.com weblog
Noting that project and a civility campaign by the progressive evangelical group Sojourners, author Tom Krattenmaker observed in USA Today “that politics should be dedicated to the common good, not one’s own party, and that civility lines the path to a higher place.”
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In God-fearing USA, where is the decency?
USA Today
Thank goodness we have the DeMoss-Davis duo and people like Jim Wallis, leader of the progressive evangelical group Sojourners, to remind us that politics should be dedicated to the common good, not one's own party, and that civility lines the path to a higher place.
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Wallis calls for return to Christian values
Florida United Methodist News Service
Democrats or Republicans won’t be the ones leading the country out of its current economic crisis, according to the Rev. Jim Wallis, president of Sojourners. Christians will.
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Bullying Blame
Christianity Today blog
Christians and bullying: standing with gays and lesbians
Huffington Post
"Sojourners in the news" articles are the most recent news clippings that mention Sojourners in any way - whether favorably or unfavorably. Though we provide the text on our site for your convenience, we do not necessarily endorse the views of these articles or their source publications.
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