Gosh darn it! The election cycle is ramping up and the attack ads are on the rise. The mute button on my television remote will get a workout, if not outright become disabled from overuse. If "we" are supposed to be the silent majority, then why oh why, cannot the people running for office be silent as well? I'm already jaded against both political parties and the buffoons they place before the electorate to select from. I would rather pick my elected officials by playing musical chairs than the time-honored procedure of voting.
For moi, one of the most disconcerting attributes of most, if not all, of the candidates - regardless of the office striving for - is the inability to accept blame, responsibility, culpability or whatever word you choose to assign to the political animals' penchant to finger point. Finger point in any direction other than at themselves.
Perhaps this inability to accept responsibility comes from the direction of the campaign manager? Most campaign managers or Chiefs of Staff are hard-nosed men or women who seem to specialize in jugular juggernaut. Is there a class that all politicos' handlers take called Opponent Annihilation 101? Or "Take No Prisoners, Levels I, II and III"?
It seems that there are almost daily examples of individuals refusing to accept responsibility for something. Some of these examples are sad, causing John Q. Public to rethink his devotion or adoration to a certain person or group. Today, I cannot help but think about Lance Armstrong and his long-term battle against those who accuse him of doping during his reign as a frequent Tour de France cycling winner. I've done some extensive reading about Armstrong, the charges, and the cycling community's common practices then as compared to now. From my lay perspective, I do not believe this is a cut-and-dried controversy, but rather one with a whole spectrum of gray landscape from which to sketch a decision.
Where does fault lay?
At the end of the day, the person looking in the mirror is in charge of her or his fault. The finger-pointing must end at the end of my index finger.
The fault stops here.
Ancora imparo
