Buyer’s remorse can happen in politics

You have been looking for a low-mileage used car for some time and believe you have found finally found it. The salesman has a great personality, answers all of your questions, and tells you that it is a steal for $25,000. You proceed to buy the car, but within 30 days you discover that it was a very bad purchase. There are problems with the transmission, it is a gas guzzler and you find that it had been in an accident shortly before the purchase. This is what is called “buyer’s remorse” — the car didn’t live up to the salesman’s representations.

In other words you got a raw deal. You could go to court and sue for damages, but this would be costly and your chances of winning would be slim since there was no written warranty and relying on the salesman’s sales pitch makes for a weak lawsuit. The moral of this story is simple; be sure to obtain the true facts about the product you are buying; do your homework. The lesson you learned would apply to any other decision you make, such as deciding which politician to vote for in an election. You might get lucky and make a wise decision without first checking it out, but do you want to depend on luck?

Politicians are like salesmen: They tell you what you want to hear. They sound so sure of themselves and make you feel that they are your friend. At political rallies the enthusiasm of the crowd is contagious. Everyone is cheering wildly, the candidate is making one promise after another and emotions take over. It never occurs to question whether he could actually perform the promises he makes, or whether his trashing of the opposition is not based on facts, or is just sales talk. The sales pitch is intended to fuel the fire, raise the temperature in the room, and appeal to the voters’ emotions rather than to their common sense. In a way it’s like urging you to join a lynch mob, to take the law into your own hands. When you get fired up, you will engage in misconduct that under ordinary circumstances you would never do, such assaulting someone at the rally who does not agree with you.

It’s hard to criticize everyone who supports Donald Trump because most of them are suffering economically, are mad and are ready to accept Trump’s rhetoric blaming all of their ills on Hispanics, Afro-Americans, Muslims and the press. However, how many times have you acted out in anger, only to be sorry after you have cooled down? Do you really want to elect someone as president who lacks any experience in government, is hot headed and is inclined to trash anyone who disagrees with him? Many voters are unhappy with the political scene these days and want a major change, but keep in mind that as bad as you think things are now, they can always get worse. BASS TRUMBO

Fayetteville