The End of Political Junk Mail Season Draws Near
I don't usually get a whole lot of mail, but for the past month or so, my mailbox has been getting lots of love.
Election-related materials and literature have been propagating in my mailbox in recent weeks like rabbits on a rabbit farm. That leaves little room for anything else. There are lots of messages screaming to be heard, but they are screaming so loud I can't hear anything they say.
Some would call it junk mail, and I guess I would have to agree. However, it's good for business if you are a printer or the U.S. Postal Service.
It's not that the election and the issues we are deciding on are unimportant, but when it comes to stuff in the mail, you just can't help but be skeptical. How do you know what to believe? How do you know what is falsehood and what information is actually factual?
It can be a bit overwhelming for voters trying to decide what is the best direction to take for the future of our city, county, state, and our nation. It sort of feels like seeing a red stoplight and a green stoplight at an intersection at the exact same time. That Clash song says is so well - "should I stay or should I go?"
I have been collecting and saving election propaganda for a month - and it's possible there's still more on the way. How many thousands of dollars have been spent on Colorado mailings pertaining to the election? Half of the spenders are going to end up unhappy and on the losing end of the election. Will they still feel it was worth putting out all that money for their cause?
I'm curious to know if people are truly influenced by all of those messages they get in the mail, filled with negativity and questionable facts?
I can tell you that none of my votes were influenced by what I read in my daily mail. However, some things did cause me to look deeper into a candidate or an issue and get beneath the surface to really learn what it's all about. But, to take anything I read in the mail at face value I think is a mistake.
I think I'm ready to cast my vote - and go back to my daily routine of finding an empty mailbox.