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Local politics can get nasty I don’t wade out into the political waters too much these days. For one thing, I did my time in politics 20 years ago, serving as a vice-president for a local party in the county. For another, politics is a dirty, gritty, thankless business that often results in people being demeaned, defamed, and destroyed. I do vote. I tend to lean to the right of center on most issues and have no hesitation speaking out on moral issues such as abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment, and the like. As brutal as national politics seems to be, I think that the really unpleasant stuff is saved for local contests, especially in small towns. And, while I’ve seen my share of people being downright nasty, the recent mayoral election in Peachtree City ranks near the top of the rankest behavior. Emboldened by the ability to place anonymous letters in the local papers and on the Web, quite a number of people, hiding in the darkness of the unsigned letter, launched personal attacks on candidates that simply were unworthy of the residents of a community like Peachtree City. There were, of course, people who wrote letters, some of them harsh and unforgiving, who actually signed their names. With these people I have no quarrel today. At least they had the integrity to be held accountable for the letters they submitted. The incumbent mayor faced a number of challengers and, in a democratic society, this is not a problem. I have no quarrel with those who disagreed with the mayor’s policies and agenda, since this, too, is a part of living in a free society. But those who hid behind anonymity and threw scurrilous words and changes said more about themselves that they did the man with whom they disagreed. Here’s what some of these people said, on the World Wide Web, about the incumbent: “delusional,” “psychotic,” “vile,” “a ‘pimple’ on Peachtree City,” “dictator,” “idiot,” “moron,” “a disgrace,” “a phony,” and ... well, you get the idea. Now what’s helpful about the above characterizations? Do the slurs written by people hiding behind screen names better inform the voters about issues or policies? Do the citizens have any better handle on the local concerns because these people threw copious amounts of bio-solids at the mayor? At least Sen. Joe McCarthy took responsibility for the charges he made against people. I’ve tried not to use this word today, but I just can’t get away from it: Cowardly. Anonymous letters that call people names or impugn the character of others are just cowardly. I spoke to a resident of Peachtree City the other day. She shared, “I’m almost embarrassed to live here. Have you seen the letters in the paper? It makes me ashamed to tell people I’m from Peachtree City.” Another man told me that he put a political sign in his front yard. Almost immediately it was stolen. Another cowardly (and illegal) act done under the cover of darkness. I need to state that I consider myself a friend of a number of former mayors, including the incumbent who lost the recent election. I care about him and his family. I’ve disagreed with him before and told him so. I have found him to be a good and honorable man who was trying to do what he thought was right and what he thought he had been elected to do. He has a wonderful wife and two young, absolutely beautiful daughters. But I would be appalled that any elected official or candidate should be subjected to the characterizations and attacks that were evidenced in this last campaign. Why anyone would run for office and subject themselves to such meanness is beyond me. I suppose that it never occurs to the people who lurk under the cover of screen names that candidates have spouses, parents, and yes, even children who read the paper. I guess these people think they are clever and I can imagine them seeing their letter in print and jumping up and down with glee that they “really got” whoever it was they were trying to “get.” A number of years ago, I walked into the rest room at the church I served to find that, during the night, someone had smeared feces all over the walls. I don’t know what motivates people to smear feces under cover of darkness but they obviously got some perverted satisfaction out of the dastardly deed. They thought they were clever but they were only disgusting. We never did catch them. They were anonymous, too. login to post comments | Father David Epps's blog
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