Negative campaigns should be illegal in
Canada
Negative
campaigning is an act in which one party tries to win an advantage by referring
to negative aspects of an opponent or of a policy rather than emphasizing one's
own positive attributes or preferred policies. It is true people are drawn to
controversies, scandal and anything negative, however, campaigns that abuse
this opportunities for constructive criticism for the purpose of misleading
people's judgment should be illegal.
The
saying "Politics is a dirty game" not only sounds very convincing,
but contains a kernel of truth. When it comes to negative campaigns, the media plays
a supportive role in encouraging sensationalism. Since voters are continuously
engaging with and are exposed to negative campaign ads during the election, it
is likely to affect the voter's choice. The voter's choice can be, therefore,
easily triggered by false and misleading negative campaigns. Advertisements
target the subconscious mind and shape the opinions and therefore the reality
views. This is primary goal of marketing: by play enough ads over and over
again, it seeks to gain supporters and followers by consumers believed in the
product/information that is being sold.
Negative
campaigns do not only lead supporters to mistrust the candidate being attacked,
sometimes, supporters also become disillusioned and deterred by the seemingly
juvenile "tit-for-tat" negative campaigning tactic. Negative
campaigning can lead to the loss of respect and feeling of irritation in the
voters for candidates. Attacking once another without proposing viable
solutions or tactics to overcome impeding social, political and economic
challenges can very well irritate potential voters too.
Negative
campaigning is not always successful, and even if it is, it still draws away
the candidate's own votes for disrespectful act they've shown to the public.
Negative
campaigns only confuse the voters, appeal to them in ways that propel anger and
frustration, and does not necessarily guarantee the gain of their own votes. So
why even use such useless tactic during such important times? Negative
campaigns are a waste of resources which should be banned for defenestration or
societal ethics.