We Have Created Political Ad Monsters [VIDEO]

The election is over, and if your candidate didn't win, well, at least you don't have to hear the negative ads any more.

Likewise, you won't have to see as many political rants on Facebook, which should also be nice.

It's amazing how the best in us can often bring out the worst in us. I saw an ad this year that basically indicated that a candidate was somehow in favor of helping child abusers. The 1st Amendment guarantees free speech. The right to vote and elect our own representative government has given birth to the modern campaign. Put the two together and we have the potential for unbelievably negative attack ads.

Its exactly where the cliche of a double edged sword comes from. America created the best political process, ushered in an era of democracy here and in many other places around the world. We are the model upon which all others are based. Because of these laws that demand freedom, we have a political advertising process that can become as negative as the participants want.

Did you hear an ad this year that made you stop and think 'Wow. That made me feel bad just to hear it'?

We have created a monster. The rules, rights, and freedoms that have to be in place for a society with liberty allows all the things that happen in our political sphere. Free speech can't go away, and when people can say whatever they want, I guess they can say it as negatively as they want.

The problem is that the negativity can work. A recent campaign realized that they could take their opponents strengths, twist them, lie about them, and turn the perception around. As a participant with too many sources of information, I am never sure what to believe, from where I should find my information, and what is true or untrue. It detracts from the process when I can't make heads or tails of candidates. It probably drives people who don't have the desire to sift through layers of claims to find the facts to vote along party lines. The aforementioned facts, unless you were there to actually experience the situations unfold, can be difficult to find anyway. Google a controversy. You'll find everything under the sun has been said, written and claimed about it.

We are so fortunate to have our system. But it's not easy, that's for sure.