Bruce Lear lives in Sioux City and has been connected to Iowa’s public schools for 38 years. He taught for eleven years and represented educators as an Iowa State Education Association regional director for 27 years until retiring. He can be reached at BruceLear2419@gmail.com 

I’m a proud Andy Griffith Show nerd. I know the next line in the dialogue, and even after the twentieth time watching, I cackle like it’s the first. I’ve visited Mount Airy, North Carolina, the real Mayberry for the Andy Griffith Festival, rode in the squad car, played with the siren, and visited the courthouse. 

When I was working after a stressful day, I’d watch a couple episodes, and it calmed me down. It was better than any pill.

One of my top ten favorite episodes is “Aunt Bee’s Medicine Man.” Colonel Harvey, a traveling salesman, arrives in Mayberry and charms the town ladies into buying his tonic he claims, “purges the body and lifts the spirit.” But it’s 85 percent alcohol. Mayberry is a dry county.

Aunt Bee buys a couple bottles of his “Indian Elixir” because she’s been “feeling poorly.”  She shares Elixir with her friends from the Ladies Aide Church Committee.

The ladies invite the colonel to address the committee, and they all get “gassed” from the elixir. Andy and Barney discover the truth and raid the meeting. When the ladies learn the truth while behind bars, they’re embarrassed and angry. They run the colonel out of town.

The colonel is a “snake oil salesman,” who lies. He’s found out and run out of town by angry consumers. But if Colonel Harvey was a politician, he could exaggerate and lie in speeches and media ads with impunity.  

No, I don’t believe all politicians are liars and crooks. I respect those who are brave enough to put their names on the ballot and face public scrutiny. But I do know it’s time for voters to increase that scrutiny for greater accountability.

There are currently no federal laws requiring honesty in political advertisements or speeches. Political speech is protected by the First Amendment. 

Here are some suggestions for how to critically vote.

Political attack ads need to cite specific sources for the attack.

If it sounds too good to be true, it is. Easy answers don’t solve hard problems.

Politicians who refuse to have town halls or debates are putting campaign strategy ahead of openness. Do you really want an elected representative who refuses to talk to people who disagree or might ask a hard question? If a politician makes a gaffe, he/she needs to honestly apologize and own the mistake.

Voters need to reward honest apologies for mistakes.

Politicians can disagree without being disagreeable.

Watch how they interact with servers.

If politicians attack more than they problem-solve, run away from them.

Ask hard questions and demand clear answers.

To run for office, politicians must have healthy egos. They believe they are best for the job. Campaigns are long, hard, and expensive. Voting for someone is a job interview. If the person interviewing is consumed by their own ego, don’t hire them.

A politician who’ll say anything to keep his/her job, should lose the job.

Watch where candidates get money and who supports them. If you don’t agree with the organization donating big, ask yourself if the big campaign contribution will influence the decisions.

Look at the record of any candidate. What has he/she supported in the past?

If a candidate begins a sentence with, “I love public schools. My aunt is a teacher,” and then has a record attacking public schools, his/her aunt is a prop.

Don’t believe everything on social media. There are few laws against lying on it either.

Critical voting isn’t passive or partisan. Often the choice isn’t right or left, it’s right or wrong. Some politicians crave “low information voters,” who’ll be swayed by one misleading attack. Please make both political parties earn your vote.