UNITED STATES—You know when it’s election year, when those political ads start running on television. It’s only September, and I’m telling myself now I cannot wait till November 4. Why? Those pesky, annoying political ads will disappear. I think the biggest concern I have when it comes to political ads is that 95 percent of them tend to be negative, and a lot of them can be vicious to say the least. Here about this politician’s voting record, the policies they endorse, the things he or she have done or have ignored, and then at the end, you get that tidbit saying vote for me.
I tell people ALL the time a political ad does not sway me when it comes to casting my vote for a politician rather its local, state or on the federal scale. For me it is all about educating myself about the candidate: who are they, what do they stand for, how can they help me, how could they possibly hurt me, do I trust them, how will their decisions directly impact me, my family and my children.
A lot of people don’t think about that when it comes to casting a vote. They listen to what the political pundits have to say, what other people say, what their parents say, it just gets downright boring or frustrating as an American. I want politicians to talk ‘to’ me and not talk ‘at’ me. Don’t say what a politician would say just so you can earn my vote. Say what you mean and actually make good on what comes out of your mouth. That is the great thing about our country, it’s a democracy and people have the right to vote how he or she chooses.
However, nothing annoys me more than when someone tries to tell me how I should vote or who I should be championing for. PLEASE STOP! I did not ask for your advice or feedback. I have a brain of my own and I can make my own decisions based on how I feel and who I THINK is best for me, not best for you. You don’t have to like my decision, and I really don’t care if you do because at the end of the day I have to live MY TRUTH; I have to do what is best for me, not what you think is best for me.
Going back to these political ads, I question rather these politicians take a moment and actually think, I mean seriously think about the ad you created. Listen to what you’re saying. Some of the ads are so fake, so inauthentic and just annoying as hell. You can tell the person is feeding you a ton of BS and they seem to think they are wiser than they actually are. It sucks because you cannot ignore the ads if you’re watching broadcast TV or even Cable TV. The only exception is if you have premium channels like HBO, Showtime, Starz, Cinemax, Epix or The Movie Channel. You’ll see commercials, but it’s related to movies, not politics and I will take that any day of the week America.
These ads are relentless and they are never-ending, a vast majority of these ads are just political ad after political ad after political ad, with one minor exception here or there. It totally boggles my mind, but its ad revenue for many of these TV stations and networks, so when money calls, money talks. Trust me I’m not the only person annoyed by the countless ads, but remind yourself: an ad is just an ad: the goal is to try to influence you. How about you do your homework and truly learn about the candidate and how they benefit you and not rely on what someone tells you what to do. Make your own decision based on what is best for you in the long run.
Written By Zoe Mitchell
