Elections Are Not Wars

“I beseech you, in the bowels of Christ, think it possible you may be mistaken.” – Oliver Cromwell

When I was young, back in the 1970s, I used to watch Firing Line on PBS. William F. Buckley Jr. hosted the show, and he was amazing. He was a staunch conservative, and he had a brilliant intellect. He would interview all sorts of people, many of whom strongly disagreed with Buckley’s political opinions. However, Buckley debated these individuals politely and in a leisurely manner. I remember watching one episode in which Buckley was leaning back in his chair, his pen held close to his mouth and his tie slightly loosened. Buckley was smiling. He listened closely as his guest expressed his views, and then, almost casually, he eviscerated the man’s arguments. He did it in a civil manner, and he never used ad hominem arguments.

The worst thing I ever heard Buckley say to a guest was what he told George Wallace when he was on the program. Buckley questioned whether Wallace was really a conservative, asking if he considered himself a populist. It was clear that Buckley did not like Wallace at all, but he did not say anything more derogatory than that.

Fast forward to our current election cycle, some fifty years later. The speeches made by candidates today sound more like they belong on professional wrestling programs than on a debate stage. The politicians and commentators of our time are not shy about getting into the gutter. Their arguments are often incoherent. Buckley would demolish their views with ease. Alas, Buckley is gone, and we’re stuck with these people.

It might sound like I am nostalgic for the good old days of politics. I’m not really. I can still remember the demagogues of my youth. Nixon was a classic manipulator of public opinion. Wallace also comes to mind. He was a racist fearmonger who, unlike Lincoln, never appealed to “the better angels of our nature.” My dad voted for him, probably twice. Politics has always been a blood sport, and politicians have seldom hesitated to appeal to voters’ darker instincts.

Political discourse has grown coarser in recent years. There was a time when at least some politicians were content to accuse their opponents of being wrong or perhaps even stupid. Now, the adversary has to be described as evil incarnate. The candidate from the other party is now the enemy. There is no longer any place for a loyal opposition.

This frightens me. For a democracy to function, there has to be at least a grudging respect for the people who disagree with us. An election is obviously a struggle for power, but it cannot become an all-out war. We have to be able to accept the results of our elections and then work together with our opponents in some way. It cannot be an endless, ruthless fight for supremacy. At some point, the common good has to take priority.

For some reason, Halloween and Election Day are always close together on the calendar. Maybe it’s because both have to do with terrifying possibilities. We don’t have any Halloween decorations in our front yard. But I have placed a sign on the lawn for my preferred candidate for governor. That is probably scary enough.

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Frank Pauc is a former Army aviator, a longtime trucking-company supervisor, and a contributor to The Havok Journal. A West Point graduate from the Class of 1980, he completed the Military Intelligence Basic Course and flight school, served with the 3rd Armored Division in West Germany and the 7th Infantry Division at Fort Ord, and left the Army in 1986. He later taught citizenship classes through Voces de la Frontera in Milwaukee, took part in peace and protest work, and writes largely about veterans, family, grief, and the long aftermath of military service.

As the Voice of the Veteran Community, The Havok Journal seeks to publish a variety of perspectives on a number of sensitive subjects. Unless specifically noted otherwise, nothing we publish is an official point of view of The Havok Journal or any part of the U.S. government.