Don't Play Me Like I'm Stupid

I don't care if we are talking sports or politics, one thing I absolutely hate is for someone to insult my intelligence by lying dead to my face. It's somewhat of a common practice in sports.

We, in the media, call it coach-speak. Coaches will say certain things they know may not be completely true in order to keep their team focused on the task at hand or so they won't tip their hand before a game is played. Oftentimes, it's blatant, but always harmless in the grand scheme of things.

However, in the world of politics, insulting society's intelligence isn't just commonplace, it's the norm, and as we have seen with Iraq, it can be gravely dangerous.

Politicians have made a career out of saying whatever is necessary to get re-elected, and voters have been falling for such tactics for centuries.

But to quote an old, wise sage from the 90's, "Homey don't play that!"

I know in some parts of our country--especially the part where I live now--it's acceptable to openly lie to any and everyone about any and everything. But I grew up in the South, and down there you can't just knowingly lie to people and expect them to take you at your word. As we Southerners like to say, "Don't piss on my head and tell me it's raining!"

I raise this point, because I'm starting to get a little upset at the current presidential campaign, particularly the Republican party. I've already touched on the hypocrisy of the McCain campaign.

Check out this latest example:



So, being a mayor or governor for only a short time disqualifies you from the presidency, but it doesn't disqualify you from being one heartbeat away from it? Whew, I feel so much better now.

But beyond the hypocrisy, it's the outright, blatant lies that are originating from McCain supporters, and oftentimes his campaign itself.

New York Times Columnist Paul Krugman writes, "Did you hear about how Barack Obama wants to have sex education in kindergarten, and called Sarah Palin a pig? Did you hear about how Ms. Palin told Congress, "Thanks, but no thanks" when it wanted to buy Alaska a Bridge to Nowhere. These stories have two things in common: they’re all claims recently made by the McCain campaign — and they’re all out-and-out lies."

Charles Babbington from the Associated Press says, "The "Straight Talk Express" has detoured into doublespeak."

And James Rainey writes in the Los Angeles Times, "News organizations and these admirable truth-squadding outfits, including PolitiFact.com, do not collaborate. But in independent news reports and commentaries this week, they seemed to reach a consensus to say ‘enough’ to the McCain camp's efforts to demonize Barack Obama."

Enough already. I'm beyond fed up with these low-rate political tactics. Don't disguise your lack of solid viewpoints and arguments on the issues that affect us the most with lies and smears of the opposition.

Don't play me like I'm stupid. Don't play the American voters like they are stupid. This election is too damned important to be playing games!