In this presidential race, politics have become more heated than usual. Bush’s foreign and domestic policies have been extremely controversial over the past few years, and people are looking for who has the answer, whether it be Bush or Kerry.
However, things have been taken a bit too far at MSU.
Last weekend, at the Homecoming Parade, both campus political party organizations suffered jeers and even trash being thrown at them. Notably, the College Democrats lost their parade float to a case of arson.
There has been much finger-pointing this week. Suffice it to say, neither the College Democrats nor Republicans can be called responsible for the attacks. No, those responsible are unknown, yet destructive.
The key word to remember when dealing in politics is tolerance. Just because someone supports a different candidate or has a different opinion about certain issues does not mean a person is allowed to lash out at them. That is what the electoral process is about. The battlefield is the election, and your main weapon is a vote. That is the way you control politics and get your opinions heard.
We do not know why the person or persons responsible for the burning of the College Democrat’s float chose that way to express their opinions. But we cannot take the arsonist as an example.
Instead, take for your example the debate held last Wednesday night. The College Democrats and Republicans met under equal terms to intelligently discuss the political issues. They wished to help people reach an informed decision of who to vote for on Election Day. Instead of jeers and recriminations, calm discussion prevailed.
Remember, jeers and mockery cannot change anything. You can only spread hatred when you mock people for their beliefs.
The Reflector editorial board is made up of opinion editor Angela Adair, news editor Elizabeth Crisp, sports editor Craig Peters, entertainment editor Dustin Barnes, managing editor Pam McTeer and editor in chief Josh Foreman.