Presidential Debates - Ugh!

Well here we are. Two down and one to go (debates that is). And what's the main focus of conversation? Who beat who, who was tougher and who could take the best punch. Some, not all, in the audience are craving the fight, looking for the knockout and seeing if enough damage and blood gets shed in the process. I found myself thinking some of the same things and getting caught up in the drama of the stalkers on stage. Kind of like a dog fight (illegal) or a cock fight (illegal) or maybe boxing (legal but dangerous). These examples by the way, are things we tend to be shocked about and act as though they are terrible.

But something really is out of whack and it does say something about the culture we live in around this entire globe. For all the talk about civility, good manners and anti bullying, here we are cheering on bullies and beating up someone who tries to be dignified and thoughtful. So the message to our candidates as well as our children and to each other is "go at it, stand up and be a man. Be as brutal as you can be" and so forth. Why is that, and why does the side that was getting beat up get talked into doing it back?

It's amazing to me that a standard of arrogance, bullying, disrespect, demagoguery and general bad manners is not only tolerated but encouraged in an election for President of the US. At the same time, these things seem to make partisans feel good. Pundits and talking heads have some major responsibility here but alas, it seems to be a part of the human condition to want this level of interaction. It seems to me that we should be disgusted with both camps at this point for both acting this way and responding to calls for more of the same.

Next week we will have a final debate, supposedly on foreign policy. In a world with so many difficult situations in countries looking for leadership and support, you would think a thoughtful policy debate would be in order. I fear not. Let's get ourselves and everyone else as whipped up as possible. Let's bully some more and call names, fan the flames and send a message of more mistrust. Won't that be helpful for the US and the world.

I hate being led down the path of "the lesser of two evils", but that seems to be where a lot of people are being led. I believe in debate and the sharing of ideas. I also happen to believe in civility and respect for the people you don't agree with. A real example of that kind of civility is the relationship and friendship that grew between Rep. John Lewis and former Rep. Amo Houghton, Jr who became Co-Chairs of the Faith and Politics Institute in Wash. D.C. Two men from different political parties and different backgrounds. One black, one white with completely different life experiences but both committed to civil discussions.

Having said all of this, Mitt Romney gives bosses, CEO's and business leaders a bad name. They are not all like him. Maybe people involved in takeovers or bankruptcies, but certainly not every business person. Treating people badly is not a class act at all and it says a lot about someone when it's done so easily.

I, like many others I'm sure, would also rather have President Obama spend some time talking about what he wants to get done and how he'll do it in a second term. It's an important discussion and some of us are waiting.

What we need now is for everybody to calm down. Stop with the sports analogies and listen to ideas.

If anything is really going to change, we have to stop cheering and begging for the fight and the knockout. I'm going to start by catching myself. One more to go and it should be an important discussion on policies not feather puffing.