Let the Mudslinging Begin

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Now that the political season is in full swing, and really when is it not anymore, you’ll be hearing a particular word a lot.  As mud is slung from network to network don’t forget to duck.  Answering the phone without first checking the caller ID is at your own peril.  Even opening the mailbox exposes you to the onslaught of glossy propaganda.

Each candidate and his or her representatives will be appalled at the actions and words of the opposing candidate and his or her representatives.  You’ve seen it happening while we are three months out from the elections.  It will get so bad that there will be fleeting thoughts of returning to a monarchy to avoid all the ads that run on television.  I know there are some of you who feel they will no longer have to make a case for why they don’t watch one in the first place.  You may be on to something.

Come late October or early November we will hit a fever pitch and here it comes:  the vitriol.  And it always does!! But what exactly is this vitriol or the vitriolic behavior that is condemned, but continually practiced?  It all goes back to chemistry.  According to dictionary.com, oil of vitriol is actually sulfuric acid – YIKES!!  That’s some nasty stuff.

Therefore, this is basically anything that is highly caustic or inflammatory.  The effect is severe and damaging and usually refers to criticism, but I think it covers the accusations and innuendo spewed forth as well.

So now you can call it what it is, the slander, the libel, the outright falsehoods lies: VITRIOL. You too can be the next political pundit ready to climb on a soapbox – or into the chair at the table of the talking heads.  Either way, you’ll sound like one of them, but you’ll know better than to spread it, won’t you?

This time of year always make me think of preschool or kindergarten and how one learns to be truthful, kind, play well with others and be a good sport.  Hmmm…. If only those were some of the qualifications necessary to hold all of these positions.

(That’s about as political as I plan to get on here.)