Vote the Values that Matter Most
Think back to the last midterm elections, 2018. Recall the ads, the debates, the news stories and the public discussion on the issues that matter. Do you remember any candidate suggesting a plan for managing a global pandemic? How about proposals in response to riots, whether they occur in urban centers or at the U.S. Capitol? Did anyone raise the issue of how the U.S. should respond to the hostile invasion by one country of another?
Of course not. It’s not just Yogi Berra who warned of the perils in making predictions about the future. Niels Bohr, a Nobel Laureate in physics, made the same observation: “Prediction is very difficult,” he said, “especially if it's about the future!”
Voters would do well to take that advice to heart as they cast their votes in this year’s elections. The future is even harder to predict these days than it was when Berra and Bohr offered their notes of caution. The only certainty is that the issues facing those elected in the 2022 midterms will be as surprising, complicated and confounding as those that confronted the class of 2018.
So what’s a voter to do? Well, if candidates and campaigns offered substantive discussions and solutions about the challenges and opportunities facing the state, country and world, that would be a useful guide. But, of course, substance is deemed to be a losing political strategy. Instead, candidates blame, deflect and offer outright nonsense. Today’s candidates spend their time and campaign resources attacking their opponent, blaming the other party for all the ills of the day and proposing quick fixes that mostly are irrelevant to the actual problem being addressed.
It’s no wonder most Americans believe that political debate has become more negative, less respectful and less fact-based, according to a Pew Research survey. And, like so many attitudes defined by politics, opinions are sharply shaped by partisan bias. More than 7-in-10 Americans say it is important for members of the other party to treat elected officials respectfully. But, fewer than half of Democrats say it is very important for members of their party to treat Republican officials respectfully and a similar percentage of Republicans feel similarly about how Republicans should treat Democratic officials.
As Election Day 2022 draws closer, the air waves and mailboxes are filled not with thoughtful proposals to manage pressing issues or to anticipate tomorrow’s challenges. Instead, voters are overwhelmed with ludicrous attacks. The vapid pronouncements from candidates give voters no substantive means to evaluate how one might actually govern should he or she be elected.
Certainly, voters want candidates to share their ideology, and that’s important. But in this rapidly changing and complicated world, what voters need are leaders they can TRUST.
Do candidates share your values? Are they people of integrity? Are they honest and transparent?
Some criteria that are far more useful in evaluating a candidate than the ads and mailers:
Have they demonstrated leadership? Leadership goes beyond running a business. More important - has the candidate ever organized diverse interests and people around a community problem or a critical issue and forged a solution? Governance is not like running a business. Governance is about crafting solutions, identifying acceptable compromises and building legislative and public support.
Are candidates people of integrity? One of the smartest ethics counselor, Al Watts, often made the point that knowing the right thing to do is the easy part; DOING the right thing is the hard part. Has your candidate built a record of doing the right thing even when it was the hard thing to do?
Can you trust what they say? It’s true, as Ralph Waldo Emerson said, that “consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” But consistency on core values and on how a policymaker approaches issues are critical traits of an effective policymaker.
This isn’t an argument to ignore issues. It is a plea to vote for integrity and core values. Voters are electing policymakers to deal with the known knowns, the known unknowns and the unknown unknowns, as a former Defense secretary once said.
Leadership, integrity and trust matter most in these times of change and uncertainty.
Thank you, Tom. Again, wise words.
Anyone can be a politician. And the best ones may not be the most personal, or even personalities...but they have a couple of things in common. They Listen. And they work for ALL people in their arena. Because the job is full of discussion, compromise, and looking at realistic progress. It is so easy to criticize, do nothing, or tear things apart...even eliminate past accomplishments which were hard won.
Used to be that the people who profited from campaigns were the union printers, the postal service (although they gave campaigns special rates), and people who supplied beans/franks and lime jello (with a dollop of whipped cream), or donuts and coffee. Because candidates actually put themselves on community stages, be it in school gyms, church halls, community centers, or outdoor events. Not to mention door knocking.
Now millions, outrageous millions, is given to the media. The media used to be the home of public service town halls and debates. Or massive voting sections in the newspaper with detailed answers to same questions by all candidates. But now we get nothng but hate, fear and loathing. Always felt a candidate in office had to campaign little to get reelected if they are doing their job (which includes reaching across the asile). So much time is spent answering false acts, or spewing carefully written press releases that are "bad headline" corn.
It will all be over soon. For another couple of years. Hope Democracy holds and that we do more for the American people, rather than watch a petty food right between political parties for anotehr two years.
Very thoughtful and well said. I really hope voters take the very real, serious issues to heart as they cast their votes, but I am not hopeful.