Maybe I'm just a tree-hugging, pacifist hippie at heart, but what bothers me the most about an election, period, is the fervent degradation of character that both the Democratic and Republican parties employ in campaign strategies.
Though the country is clearly divided over whom to elect as president in 2004, we are all united as Americans, and we should respect the public service of both John Kerry and George W. Bush.
Of course, I recognize the right to freely speak your mind and the possibility of character attacks through free speech; I just wish political campaigns and Americans alike would focus more on positive affirmation for their candidate rather than negatively attacking their opponents.
There is a need to criticize policy and political action, but to drudge up stories about a politician's past (especially stories without absolute proof such as the Swift Boat ads attacking Kerry's military service and the CBS documents questioning President Bush's service in the National Guard) is a clear violation of human integrity.
Not only are negative attacks often unwarranted, they also set a bad example for Americans to follow. It doesn't bother me when a fellow student bashes the policies of President Bush; what bothers me is when my peers tell me that they hate the president. I don't understand how citizens can hate their commander in chief.
I feel like I've grown up in a country of ultimate equity; a country that provides opportunity for its citizens and democratically allows them to vote for their preferred candidate. When a candidate wins who wasn't my first choice, I still feel an obligation to support his position as my president. Over time I will question his policy, but as a person I will not question his integrity unless it interferes with his ability to run the country.
Realistically, Kerry and Bush are similar politicians, and I doubt the country will differ much under either candidate. I admit this is a point of controversy, but now that we are involved with the conflict in Iraq and have instilled a democratic government, The United States has an obligation to the Iraqi people to provide stability.
Whether you believe stability will come through Bush's plan of reconstruction in Iraq or that stability can only be achieved if we elect Sen. John Kerry, you have the right to vote for your preferred candidate.
The United States has lost its respect for public office holders. If a candidate differs in political policy, we tend to attack his character. The media warns us that Bush may not have rightly earned an honorable discharge from his National Guard duty, and that Kerry possibly made decisions in Vietnam that cost the lives of his fellow soldiers.
Instead of attending to the relatively inconsequential and minute details of a presidential candidate's past, we should spend our time and money promoting our preferred politician's future.
I don't care if my president dodged military service in the past, or if he made a mistake in a tumultuous time, because I understand that he is a person. I feel confident that my president will provide for me and my fellow citizens, fight for my rights and the natural rights of man and properly run the country. I care about our public officers.
Tyler Thompson is journalism sophomore. Reach him at tyler.thompson@asu.edu.
