October 21, 2008 - Gift Wrap

Socialist.

A word that rings with negativity. Designed to invoke negative imagery when spoken, and stuck like an ugly red bow onto the name "Barack Obama" by the McCain political campaign. The advantage of attaching a bow onto something is that you don't need to know what the present actually holds inside. Facts, content, the truth about someone, is completely irrelevant, as we decide between which gift to open November 4. Will it be the box, a little battered by time, perhaps looking a bit like it's been sitting in the closet too long, but wrapped in amazing Red, White & Blue gaudy patriotic colors? Or will it be the shiny new box, the one that seems like it actually has something new inside?

Perhaps it's the holidays that causes me to utilize the "present" metaphor, but it doesn't change that ugly words are being used to try and denigrate Obama's campaign.

Terrorist.

A dark black stain splashed onto Obama's record. However, the stain didn't seem to exist prior to the campaign...a complex chain of events and misdirections have allowed McCain's attack dogs to slander their opponent even further. But truth doesn't matter. Sound bites do.

How many read the headline without reading the article? How many will see the quick note on a news website, without checking the facts? Sitting around the clichéd water cooler, it's easy to posit "Obama's a ____________" without having to explain the history behind the statement.

Muslim.

And there are some marks that in no way should be regarded as pejorative. Soldiers. Doctors. Lawyers. Workers. Americans. All share the Muslim faith. While Obama is not a Muslim, to associate him with that faith is being regarded by many Americans as a horrific taint, a smear.

Why use ten words when you can use one? Why describe millions of people, when one simple word will define them all? Let's make the sounds gentle and easy on the soft ears of American voters. We don't want them to have to listen to more than three seconds of definition, let's just give them one word at a time.

I'm not asking voters to pick a side, I'm asking voters to give their candidates a few second more of their time. Those people that only read the labels and grab for the package that looks nicest on the outside may realize that they may not get what they want.

Personally this year I'm hoping for a brand new clean suit shirt...as opposed to say, a pair of old itchy socks. I got that the last few years, and frankly, I've had enough.