The silly season bears down on us once again. I’m talking about election season. From now until November, we will be treated to messages costing millions of dollars. Most of them will be negative and from well-meaning and well-coiffed candidates who will try to convince us they actually have some solutions.

An army of consultants, whose jobs are to make us think their candidate can walk on water, will aid them in this mission. Since voters seem to care more about appearance and World Wrestling Entertainment smackdowns, the message can be expected to be more about the crease in the candidate’s pants and the evidence that the opponent is in league with the devil than about substantive issues.

Ever wonder why politics get so negative? The consultants know from their polls and test panels that it works. With issues like the largest underemployed workforce in decades and a crisis in health care, voters cannot afford to make superficial judgments about who we choose to send to Congress. 

H. L. Mencken said, “The men the American people admire most extravagantly are the greatest liars; the men they detest most violently are those who try to tell them the truth.”

As voters, we need to start getting this right. Do your homework and engage your mind before coloring in the circles.