Paul Richardson: The last thing I want to hear is "I approve this message"

The last thing I want to hear right now is, “I approve this message.” 

Now don’t get me wrong, I vote. I always vote. When there is an election, I vote. There is a posting on Facebook that I can really relate to this campaign season and it goes something like this or at least this is the spirit of the quote; “This campaign process would be much easier if liar’s pants actually did catch on fire.” Now that is something that I could buy into.

I have never approached an interview for a job that I wanted to get with the methods that these candidates use. How do they expect us to hire them? On what basis do we vote for someone instead of voting against someone? 

Maybe I am just getting to a point where my cynicism is overpowering my wisdom. That is not where I want to be, but the flood of campaign ads that provide no clear information about the candidate and only attack the opponent is overwhelming. 

Then things get really frustrating when the one that was attacked seems to provide evidence that words were taken out of context and manipulated to represent something quite different than what was portrayed in the initial advertisement.

People often find me abrasive and believe that I am extremely outspoken. However, if you look closely you will notice that I seldom talk about politics. When I go to the polls to vote, I vote in line with my moral code and my life philosophy. If you want to know about those, well, we can sit and talk that out sometime. 

People who know me well, know and appreciate the best thing about me is that I am exactly who I say I am and the worst thing about me is I am exactly who I say I am. I am not one to blow smoke up your skirt, euphemistically speaking, because when you blow smoke up someone’s skirt, you will return later to lift that skirt and wire brush them. Again, euphemistically speaking. 

Say what you mean and mean what you say. Believe it, own it, and say it with the conviction that you are willing to burn the very bridge you are standing on. Right or wrong, because sometimes you are just going to be wrong. You don’t intend to, but well stuff happens.

So, Tuesday, November 3rd, we did what we do in “Sane”, vote early and vote often. Now that’s a way to make it count. 

At the end of the day if you don’t vote, you shouldn’t gripe and according to the goodwife, I like to gripe. 

Again, some of those that know me well are quick to label me as just an “old grump” and quite cantankerous. As you are reading this, the elections are over, and it is time to start anew. Let’s do the right thing and hope the process is better next time. All of that aside, the last thing I want to hear is “I approve this message.”

(Paul Richardson's column, The Horse I Rode In On is published weekly in the Neosho Daily News, Seneca News-Dispatch, Aurora Advertiser and on the Turner Report.)