Politics

The political process hasn't changed that much since the founding of these United States. As reported in Fred Kaplan’s biography of John Quincy Adams the vitriol, name calling, outright lies and physical violence are much the same as they were a couple of hundred or more years ago. The real difference is that then the rent-a-mob phenom hadn't been invented to exploit the meaning of the First Amendment. Of course, the size of the population compared to Adams’ day is partially to blame for the number of participants that disrupt political events. However, the real culprit in Adam’s eyes is the quest for power that leads to the anger and hatred that makes potential politicians fear for their lives. He was convinced that his enemies (much like his father’s) would do or say anything, true or false, to keep him from having a second term.  If the outcome weren't so vital to the future direction of the country and if he weren’t such a concerned citizen it might have been a case of a pox on both their houses. But, like Adams, we have to face the fact that there will be an occupant of the White House even if he or she is antipodal to our views. Since that is a given we should forget all the negativity and ask what their policies would be. That would be the enlightened way to elicit information that might be helpful to our participation in the republic.