A strange game. The only winning move is not to play. How about a nice game of chess?
- Joshua/WOPR, WarGames

Here in South Carolina, constituents are being blitzed by ad campaigns from GOP candidates for President of the United States. A handful of commercials on TV tout the plans of their candidate. Mostly, the rest of them hammer each other with fear and trembling. It might be two to one, negative to positive. It’s been much worse in elections past, and who knows if it’ll get more scathing as the week goes on.

NOTE FROM MANAGEMENT: this is NOT a political advertisement. – the Editors

But what gets me is that there are a number of these ads touting the “most important issue is beating Obama”. And each time one of these plays out across my TV screen, I want to grab an ad agency and ask if that’s the BEST they can do? Really?!? (… picture Kermit on SNL a few weeks ago with Seth Myers on Weekend Update, flailing arms and “rreeaallyy?!?”… like that)

This post is not a stance for any candidate, nor is it meant to bash one side over any other. Rather, regardless of the political race, I’m holding this truth to be self-evident:

Being FOR something will beat out being AGAINST something every time.

Let me lay out how I see this working:

• When I posted that sentiment on my facebook wall the other day, a friend said I’m just arguing semantics. And perhaps she’s right, and I do have a tendency to do just that with the meanings of words and such. Yes, even when we became a country, it was to separate ourselves AGAINST the tyranny back in the Old World. Even here, however, I think it was our country’s forefathers’ fight FOR freedom that won out against Britain’s fight AGAINST rebellion.
• I replied on the facebook post that it’s like being for godliness or being against sin: “Both have a spot on the docket, but the focus towards godliness has a better chance to lead to abundant life, I’m thinking, while taking care of the against by default.”
• My biggest sticking point is the idea that one candidate’s best option is that he or she is not the other candidate. Really? If your best selling point is that you’re not the other, then you probably need to find a new line of work.
• And we take this out of the realm of politics and religion. It’s a truth in all of life: moving forward, at least mentally, emotionally, and philosophically, has a real chance of succeeding AND taking care of the against part in the process. But if we’re only against that thing, then we have no real goals to shoot for, do we? In your job, work FOR being a better employee rather than just trying to save your job. If you’re an athlete, play to win instead of playing to not lose. In your family, grow to be a better parent, not just trying to be something different from your own parents.

Life goes better, goes faster, goes with some excitement and oomph when it’s lived FOR something bigger, something better, something improved and outside the norm of the past and present. We strive towards the better. We fight hard when there’s a goal, a dream, a chance for great things. We yearn for something more, not just a different something else. That’s the power behind just being positive instead of negative. That’s where your encouragement and inspiration will come from. That’s where the hard work will payoff. Be FOR whatever it is ahead for you…

But just being against something – well, I’m against that.