Are positive political campaign ads just a crazy idea?
Like anything in life, you can choose to view whatever you face as a negative or a positive, and anyone that knows me knows I am a bit nuts about looking at most anything as an opportunity. Rather than wonder why things are the way they are, I'd always rather spend my time wondering how they could be different. Change for change sake is not smart, but don't we all want to do things a little bit better, or a lot bit better, tomorrow than we do them today?
Politics is much the same in my very limited view - the more things change the more they stay the same, but it sure does not have to be that way. Change is one of the most often used words in any campaign, so wouldn't it be cool to see folks really try something different?
Year after year, with increasing ferocity, elections come and go with an incredible focus on the negative - whether it be about a candidate, a party, a position on an issue, a comment someone made, or some other thing that is based on a defiant slam of what is wrong, versus an affirmation of what is right. Now I am not saying that anyone should not be loud and proud of what their position is on a subject, but wouldn't we all prefer to head what the woman or man running for the office is in favor of, absent from any comments about their opponent having the IQ of a tree stump, the moral charachter of a subway conman, or the friends and family network of a terrorist.
Political attack ads win campaigns at every level the experts mostly agree, but do they actually win the hearts and minds of the people, or help them see the chance the get involved in something bigger than just winning the next election? Is it a part of our attention deficit culture that leads us to slam first, and make suggestions later? Is it really such a crazy notion that someone could just talk about what they would like to do, what they feel is the best for that position, what they would like to start, what they think are the important issues to focus upon, and what they think the big opportunities are in the future? Do they really have to say anything about anyone else?
I think of business much like many folks think about politics - all the time. If someone asked me to give my 30 second elavator speech on what is so great about ValpoLife, I sure would not spend any of those seconds talking about someone else.