Before reading this post, please note that it is different from my description of what my blogs are about. My site says in these posts I am “Considering the Christian life, the Bible, and the Church.” Clearly that is not true about this one. Yet it is something I have been thinking about and I wanted to share.

Like many who are paying attention to the current political climate as we move closer and closer to Election Day, I am disappointed and embarrassed. It seems to me that grown women and men who are politicians and leaders should be showing more maturity, class, and gravitas, as well as respect to their fellow candidates, politicians, and the public.

I’ve been following presidential elections since 1960 when I was nine years old and cannot remember any political season lacking these qualities as much as we are witnessing now.

And I have in mind not just the two presidential candidates, but their running mates also, as well as the senate majority and minority leaders and the speaker of the house. To me the only one of this group who exhibits these qualities very much at all is the Republican VP candidate.

When it comes to gravitas, where is the seriousness, sobriety, and solemnity in demeanor in campaigning and giving speeches? You would think we would especially see more gravitas when the candidates are interacting with one another or being asked hard questions.

To have class “means to be a gentleman or a lady the old-fashioned way: a respectful, considerate, elegant, discreet, well-mannered, cultured, civilized, witty, funny, faithful, and kind gentleman or lady” (copied from a definition on the internet). That’s a high standard for sure, but I think most of us think our current leaders could and should do far better than they are.

I watch speeches, rallies, and interviews with our candidates now and wonder where the respect politicians showed one another years ago is? It seems like every four years respect between candidates on different sides disappears more and more.

And it’s not just the candidates and leaders who are failing in these crucial qualities. As disappointed as I am with the candidates and political leaders, I am even more disappointed in and by the political commentators and news reporters. So many on their cable shows are lacking in gravitas, class, respect and maturity.

But it is not just people who are involved full time with politics that we see and hear a lot that lacks these important qualities. Many in the entertainment business are as bad if not worse than the candidates, the politicians, the news reporters, and the political commentators.

In the title of this post I listed four qualities I think we are missing from our candidates, political leaders, political news reporters, and many celebrities. The one of the four I have not mentioned is maturity. My challenge to everyone who tries to stay informed about this political season and discuss it with others is simple. Don’t you think it’s time we grow up and show some maturity? I think with some intentionality we all could do better.

Feel free to leave a comment below and/or share this post on Facebook or in other ways.

Thank you for reading; in my next post I will be returning to “Considering the Christian life, the Bible, and the Church.”

photo credit: Thomas Hawk First Light on Mount Rushmore via photopin (license)