Emeralds Gem Box

Do Politics bring out the worst in people or do politics bring out the “real” in people?

Political Season……. Most of us can’t wait to see it get over! Even those that are running for office seem to anticipate the end of it.
There seems to be stress and tension in many conversations about politics; whether it’s about national, state or local candidates.
In the newspaper business I have people mad at me for many things. Some people get mad because their mug shot (or a loved one’s mug shot) is on front page. Others get mad if their name is mentioned in the “Crime Beat.” I also get phone calls and emails saying we don’t proof-read enough and their story had mistakes in it. And still yet, a lot of people don’t like my column and my political stand-points. I even had one lady come in and cancel her subscription to the paper because she didn’t like my column and didn’t want to read it anymore. However, I’ve also had many emails and phone calls saying they do like my column and political thoughts and appreciate what I’m doing. Everyone is different; some don’t like our church pages while others thank us for not being embarrassed of our Christian beliefs, as many liberal news outlets are. No matter what the day holds or what phone calls I get … the good always out-weighs the bad!
I was raised not to worry about what people thought of me and said about me. My father always said to me, “Show me a newspaper publisher that everyone likes and I’ll show you a newspaper publisher not doing his job correctly” and he taught me to have “alligator hide” when it came to what people thought.
With all of that being said; political season brings a different set of issues and controversies than my normal newspaper strife usually does.
I have begun to wonder … “Do politics bring out the worst in people or do politics bring out the “real” in people?”
During political season I begin to get telephone calls and emails that accuse me of liking one candidate more than the other. I’m accused of putting one candidate’s picture in the paper more than others. If we cover a debate forum we get telephone calls saying we gave one candidate five sentences more coverage than another candidate. I’m asked to investigate certain candidates and expose who they “really are.” I have been asked, in the past, why some of the questions in the political section “Meet Your Candidates” were worded the way they were; were we trying to help one candidate over another? Were we trying to hurt one candidate with the questions? Are we just being too nosy? The list goes on and on.
Two years ago, during political season, I was stopped and accused of giving one candidate more favor because I was seen hugging (that candidate) hello. Had I been a man I would have shaken his hand. So, I’m not sure if the implication was because I hugged him or if the problem seemed to lie in the fact that I was nice to him. Either way, it didn’t sit well with me and I think I made myself clear that it didn’t.
So, again I ask, “Do politics bring out the worst in people or do politics bring out the “real” in people?”
I encourage everyone to ask themselves that question.
In life in general, when some people do nothing but jab fingers and say ugly remarks about others… we have names for people like that! What makes it any different when politics are involved? If everything that comes out of someone’s mouth is derogatory, is it because politics made them do it, or is it because it is in their heart?
But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and it is those things that make a person unclean. It is out of the heart that evil thoughts come” - Matthew 15:18-19
Think about that as you start deciding on who to vote for!