The Lamentable Lapse of Public Discourse

Today is election day. I am increasingly grateful for election day because it signals an end to the campaign season. This is because it means an end to campaign television advertisements. Television is the primary medium by which candidates address issues, their opponents, and the voters. As part of this, television has become the primary vehicle for slandering or belittling one's opponent in order to gain a few percentage points in the polls. This type of discourse marks those who use it as unintelligent, and lowers the collective IQ of all who hear it.

Politicians, and consequently the electorate, are driven by their own interests. They believe that it is in their (and therefore the nation's) best interest to be (re)elected and will therefore pursue this goal at all costs. Their sole interest is gaining, maintaining, or increasing the power one wields. Legitimate public discourse is contrary to self-interest driven politics because it locates the public interest outside the personal interest.

It is precisely Christianity's assertion that the other's interest is MY interest that gives me hope for Christian participation in the public arena. Christians are uniquely equipped to participate in political speech because if they are serious about their convictions they will not driven by self-interest, but by concern for others, especially those disenfrancised and marginalized by the current system.