One of the trademark phrases of Emeril Lagasse, the famous TV chef, is “take it up a notch.”  When Emeril “takes it up a notch,” he is adding a little something extra to one of his culinary creations to make it spicier and more flavorful, something to make it go “BAM!”  Politicians all over the nation are adding a little something extra to their campaigns as well, but in a way for which Mr. Lagasse undoubtedly wants no credit.  In order, perhaps, to capture our fleeting 21st century attention spans, politicians at all levels are attacking their opponents in some alarming ways and, as a result, making the climate in your neighborhood and mine much “spicier” than should be.  As a result, it will be incumbent upon all of us to ensure we “take it down a notch” after this election is over.

In every election cycle, campaigns “go negative,” but this cycle feels decidedly different.  It is unfortunately commonplace for politicians to employ nasty rhetoric about the policies or even the character of their political opponents.  However, I cannot recall an election during which so many candidates at all levels have so openly “taken it up a notch,” essentially accusing their opponents of criminal behavior.  This year, there have been a troubling number of politicians selecting “un-American” or “anti-American” as their slur du jour.  More troubling, however, is the carelessness with which the “anti-American” label is applied, its definition widened to include the expected disagreements between candidates on issues like foreign policy and economic philosophy.  Does advocating for a particular tax policy position, any tax policy position, really make someone “anti-American?”  When a candidate calls another candidate “anti-American,” that candidate is in fact leveling a charge of treason, a crime, may I remind you, which is punishable by death if convicted.  The worst part of these accusations is not the resultant decline in the level of political discourse between politicians, but its negative impact on the rest of us.  If a politician is “anti-American,” then the logical progression is that we will view his or her supporters, our neighbors, with contempt and hate.  This is the “spice” that is starting to give me heartburn.

If you are like me, you are already seeing this “spicier” environment in your community.  A friend of my wife’s, an otherwise kind and reasonable woman, claimed recently in mixed company that Barack Obama was “the anti-Christ.”  Huh?  Another neighbor claims on our community’s online message board that she intends to “sue the HOA” for the right to plant a political sign in her front yard against current HOA policy.  Her first reaction was to converse with her lawyer rather than her neighbor.  I don’t believe our neighbors truly believe Senator Obama is the devil or that they will actually sue over a sign.  However, both situations speak to the degree that, at the behest of our “leaders,” we are beginning to our national politics as a struggle between good and evil rather than one between thoughtful people with honest disagreements.

To extent that we have love for our neighbors, we feel that way for a reason.  They are kind friends, good parents, and caregivers to our children when we need them in a pinch.  They are a part of what’s right with our communities regardless of the party they support.  Republicans, Democrats and Independents teach our children, put out our fires, heal our sick and heroically defend our country in times of war.  Holding and expressing a different political view does not make a person evil. It makes them American.  As Americans, we have always been secure enough as a people to tolerate and even invite dissent between citizens.  This dissent makes us stronger.  So let’s not define “good” so narrowly as to exclude half the population.  To do so would truly be “un-American.”