As if national campaigns haven't turned nasty enough in recent years, the billions of dollars at stake in political fundraising is making it worse.
Yes, billions. Estimates are that spending nationwide on last year's presidential and congressional races totaled $14 billion - about double from four years earlier.
That same $14 billion could have bought close to 100 school lunches for every student in America last year, kindergarten through high school senior. And that would have been a whole lot healthier than some of the garbage the candidates, their political parties and so-called independent "action committees" fed us.
With campaigns getting more expensive, fundraising is getting more desperate. Many of the loudest, most outlandish and often extreme political statements are nothing more than campaign fundraising ads. It's about making headlines to raise money - it's treating dollars as more important than facts.
Incite your supporters, get them worked up and angry, make them feel threatened by whatever you want to blame on the other side. Tell them you are the answer, their salvation, the one who will defend the flag, democracy, voting rights, the border, the Bible or their constitutional right to catch COVID-19.
Pitch your candidacy as to only way forward by portraying the opposition as demons who would destroy communities, public schools and neighborhood safety.
And after you have stirred up all that anger and set the hook, reel in your supporters and tell them to give. Pull out that credit card and be part of a movement.
There is a lot less money to be raised by talking calmly and thoughtfully, researching the issues and choosing campaign language wisely than being an opinionated loudmouth who thinks facts are like a grease stain on overalls - best ignored.
Particularly on the national level, too many candidates are overly focused on learning which labels stir up the most anger among voters, and then slapping them on their opponents as the donations flow.
That's what politics have devolved into in America. Darwin was right that plants and animals evolve over time, getting smarter and better. Too bad the same science of evolution doesn't apply to all political candidates.
The big thing evolving in U.S. political campaigns is the excessive use of branding the opposition, using misleading labels because they get attention. It's a case of reverse maturity. We tell kids that name-calling is bad, and then we promote it as political adults.
The answer isn't to ignore elections. Instead, get involved, learn about candidates, mark your decisions on the ballot. Just don't take the bait and click away your money every time a candidate screams that the world is ending and only your dollars can stop it. Don't add to that $14 billion needlessly.
If you truly want to help schoolchildren, the hungry, the unemployed, families and businesses still suffering amid the pandemic, then write a check to a nonprofit or community group that will spend the money to really assist people.
And we'll see if candidates can evolve into a better species if cut off from the easy money of anger.
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