By Lorry Myers
Watching the Olympic Games, I get caught up in the emotional stories of the people and the places they come from. I gasp at the falls and the fails and feel the passion and the pain. I look for parents in the stands and the tears when their child’s dream comes true. I feel something when teammates reach for each other and competitors shake hands and share a podium, their arms and their flags raised together. I’ve been lost in the hopeful goodwill of the Olympics.
Then, the commercials come on.
The games almost make me forget that there is an election coming up and Missouri has choices to make. I do not blindly walk into a polling place and vote; I want to have some notion of how the people who want to represent me plan to represent me.
That’s a helpful thing to know.
According to the TV commercials popping my Olympic bubble, Missouri is in trouble. Jefferson City is a “swamp”, all of our politicians are “voting” to sell farmers’ farms to the Communists, and deportation is at the top of everyone’s agenda.
It’s not on the top of mine.
What about the education of Missouri children? Has anyone seeking office looked at education scores, national rankings, or teacher salaries and retention? Have you driven down
I-70 with the diesel trucks sleeping on exit ramps? Have you tried to get service on your phone in places that don’t have service at all? Has anyone who sends me election mailers and flyers tried to get daycare in rural areas? What is Missouri going to do about that?
What are YOU going to do about that?
Perhaps there will be a debate where the candidates point fingers and spew negative comments at each other. They will interrupt, avoid answering the questions, and attack each other’s credibility.
What should we learn from that?
In between the upbeat tone of the Olympics, another political commercial runs. What exactly is a “PAC” and why are they so ugly? Do the candidates know that these commercials of anger and allegations are connected to their name? If a PAC is so full of facts and opinions, why are they not highlighting highways, and education scores, or how to attract companies to Missouri that hire parents who need available daycare?
Let’s talk about that.
