Negative Emotions Killed the Presidential Campaign

I invite comments on this piece. As Abraham Lincoln said, "I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crises. The great point is to bring them the real facts."

I grew up in New York, the "melting pot" seeing the Statue of Liberty, "....With silent lips."Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" -A poem by Emma Lazarus. We visited and learned about Ellis Island. Unless you are a native to America, one or more of your ancestors traveled to America. Some may have passed through Ellis Island, the first place the ingredients in the "melting pot" (people of different cultures, races and religions) are mixed and developed a multi-ethnic society. It opened in 1892, the same year the first Pledge of Allegiances was written.

The first Pledge of Allegiances from 1892 read, "I pledge allegiance to my Flag, and to the Republic for which it stands: one Nation indivisible, With Liberty and Justice for all." From the beginning, all people of one (indivisible) inseparable nation stood together. Even earlier in our history, fresh in the minds of our founding fathers was the memory of the British violation of civil rights before and during the Revolution. They demanded a "Bill of Rights" that would spell out the immunities of individual citizens. These truths are what we as American stand for. If we don't stand for the truth, we fall under the feet of terrorism. "It is error alone which needs the support of government. Truth can stand by itself."- Thomas Jefferson

The presidential election is all consuming as we countdown to the actual day we vote. In these last few days the media is full of negative ads. The news is full of negative reactions from the public. The candidates speak negative about each other. All of this negative energy is taking a toll on the populace. John McCain was booed by his own supporters recently after defending Barack Obama's character. Before that event, there were shouts of "traitor," "terrorist," "treason," "liar," and even "off with his head" from the crowd at McCain and Sarah Palin rallies. For the most part these shouts went unchallenged by McCain's people. The rage against Obama increased with the speeches given by Sarah Palin trying to tying Obama and his wife to domestic terrorists. So much so, people are commenting at McCain rallies that "Obama is Arab and/or Muslim." "Obama is not an American." In Pennsylvania, some heard the local Republican chairman use Obama's middle name Hussein to perpetuate false rumors that's he's Muslim. The Washington Post reported at rallies in Florida, Palin's speeches about Obama were met with "Kill him and Treason!" Obama is the first presidential candidate to be given secret service protection so early. Our First Amendment guarantees all these individuals the right to meet and voice their opinions.

Yes, this election is overwhelming. When we feel overwhelmed, it is a sign that we are in overload. Too much information for some of us to process. When we feel overwhelmed there are always several associated feelings. Fear is almost certain to be one of them. Are we showing our fear through anger? Anger can be a response to fear. Anger is a powerful emotion. It is like lightening. It can run far and wide like a thunder storm, traveling across the country. When lightning strikes hit, they can start fires, hard to extinguish. All of this negative emotion in the county is producing static electricity fueling the lightening. At these rallies are we hearing the thunder and ignoring the lightening that follows. Time to step back from the negative emotions of apathy, grief, fear, hatred, shame, blame, regret, resentment, anger, hostility.

The United States of America has a history of presidents and political candidates being assassinated or failed attempts. The first attempt to assassinate a sitting president of the United States occurred on January 30, 1835, when Richard Lawrence, an English immigrant, tried to kill President Andrew Jackson on a street in Washington, D.C. Abraham Lincoln, (president of U.S.). Ronald Reagan, (president of U.S.) was shot in Washington by John W. Hinckley, Jr., on March 30, 1981; three others also wounded.
was shot April 14, 1865, in Washington, DC, by John Wilkes Booth and died April 15. James A. Garfield, (president of U.S.)was shot July 2, 1881, in Washington, DC, by Charles J. Guiteau and died Sept. 19. William McKinley, (president of U.S.) was shot Sept. 6, 1901, in Buffalo by Leon Czolgosz and died Sept. 14Theodore Roosevelt, (formerpresident of U.S.) escaped assassination October 14, 1912, in Milwaukee while campaigning for president. Franklin D. Roosevelt, (president-elect of U.S.) escaped assassination by Giuseppe Zangara on Feb. 15, 1933, in Miami. Harry S. Truman, (president of U.S.) escaped assassination unhurt Nov. 1, 1950, in Washington, DC, as 2 Puerto Rican nationalists attempted to shoot their way into Blair House. John F. Kennedy, (president of U.S.) was shot and killed Nov. 22, 1963, in Dallas, Tex., allegedly by Lee Harvey Oswald. His brother campaigning for president, Robert F. Kennedy, (U.S. senator from New York) was shot and killed June 5, 1968, in Los Angeles by Sirhan Bishara Sirhanand. Gerald R.Ford, (president of U.S.) escaped assassination attempt Sept. 5, 1975, in Sacramento, Calif., by Lynette Alice (Squeaky) Fromme, who pointed but did not fire a .45-caliber pistol. He escaped another assassination attempt in San Francisco, Calif., Sept. 22, 1975, by Sara Jane Moore, who fired one shot from a .38-caliber pistol that was deflected

As American history is being made, do we want to add another negative page? Do we want to be known as a violent country full of negative emotions, hate? Are we a diverse country of many peoples of different options, views, values, nationality, and skin color? Or are we working toward everyone in America looking, sounding and acting the same? Have we become intolerant of differences?

"Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space lies our freedom and power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and freedom" - Victor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning.