In the midst of our country’s current political cycle, which is so widely covered by every media outlet that you can’t get away from it, hyperbole and vitriol and one-upmanship and hateful banter seem to be the rules of the game. Candidates from both parties have thrown jabs at each other, belittling and berating each other over everything from personal appearance to family lineage to past business dealings to personal family tragedies. As voters, we declare through social media and conversation that we are appalled, frustrated and uninterested in such rhetoric. However, something keeps the candidates talking in this way. Maybe it is the media attention, and maybe, just maybe, a small portion of it is that we the people actually enjoy the mudslinging more than we’d like to admit.

As I’ve watched and listened, mouth agape at what I’m hearing, I have truly been discouraged. But I also haven’t turned off the TV or stopped reading the headlines. Through all of this, I’m challenged by the timely words of the Thumper the Rabbit from the movie Bambi, who recalled a lesson his parents had taught him: “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing at all.” I wonder what impact taking this lesson to heart would do for our country and our world.