As long as we have been a country, we have had mudslinging during elections. This is the practice of one candidate attacking their opponent personally instead of talking about policies.
From the beginning, elections have never been 100 percent civil. In 1796, Alexander Hamilton attacked Thomas Jefferson in The Gazette of the United States using the pen name, “Phocion.”
In the 1828 election, John Quincy called Andrew Jackson a “cannibal.” The handbill said:
“…The blood thirsty Jackson began again to show his cannibal propensities, by ordering his Bowman to dress a dozen of these Indian bodies for his breakfast, which he devoured without leaving even a fragment.”
Also during the 1828 election, John Quincy Adams called Andrew Jackson a “slave-trading, gambling, brawling murderer.”
Fast-forward to the age of television and there was plenty of mudslinging with this new technology. We had a vice presidential nominee who couldn’t spell potato. Richard Nixon announced that he’s not a crook on live television. Then, we had Sarah Palin, who is an embarrassment all by herself.
During both Obama elections, candidates really started making use of the internet. Obama was on YouTube and Facebook trying to pull in the young voters. He was the first president I voted for, and now, I”m still glad I did.
Mudslinging is used to appeal to people’s emotions in order to try and gain viewers. Dr. Ted Brader studied this topic. He said:
“Fear ads get a bad rap. They’re seen by many as sinister, but in fact, fear ads are not unsavory. They break people out of their political habits and make them pay attention to what’s going on around them. When there’s nothing to fear, there’s no reason to weigh the costs and benefits of a particular decision. It’s easier to stick to the habits you already have.”
During this election, we have been bombarded by memes on our Facebook pages. They give us little snippets of facts or quotes. They are also used to make fun of the candidates. It’s like people are doing the political mudslinging on their own.
Some people have made some disgusting memes against Hillary Clinton. People have also made plenty of insults against Trump as well. It causes more fights and division with this easy access to information.
Featured image by Tony Alter via Flickr, available under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
