I was watching Jeopardy! on Thursday night, trying to relax with the cozy familiarity of the legendary game show hosted by Alex Trebek, a popular figure in our household. However, I had forgotten that during election season, the commercials during Jeopardy! are always filled with political attack ads. Alas, special interests are yet again funding TV ads in an effort to buy our votes. Not exactly democracy in action, but in a country where millions, if not billions, of dollars are spent every election cycle to get people elected to public office, this is to be expected. If only we put that money into feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, and paying medical bills for the thousands of people who go bankrupt every year due to healthcare costs.
I noticed that one of the political advertisements, from State Representative Haraz Ghanbari, focused on criticizing the national protests surrounding police brutality. This was surprising to me since I am unaware of any protests in Wood Country that resulted in people burning buildings, as was depicted in pictures within the advertisement. As a social worker and professor, I think a great deal about the social problems affecting Bowling Green and Wood County. This area, similar to many others in our country, is faced with high rates of poverty, health disparities, addiction, and homelessness, all of which have been exacerbated due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, America as a country has one of the highest rates of poverty in the developed world, but none of this was included in State Representative Ghanbari’s advertisement nor is listed on his website.
I could not for the life of me understand why someone running for office to represent Wood County would use fear mongering tactics in a TV ad to scare voters. Moreover, the pictures in State Representative Ghanbari’s advertisement fed into the racist stereotypes of “rioting” African Americans while of course overlooking the armed militias of white supremacists operating throughout our country. Thankfully, it turns out that we have an alternative to electing Representative Ghanbari, his opponent Laurel Johnson. Ms. Johnson, who was condescendingly depicted drinking coffee, or tea, in Ghanbari’s ad—as if that is a major failing—is running a campaign focused on the actual issues affecting the lives of people here in Wood County. It would be a breath of fresh air if we elected someone who was focusing on the real problems and concerns confronting a significant portion of the area’s citizens. Ms. Johnson is running for public office to bring power back to the people and help create an Ohio that works for everyone. I used to think that was the goal of American democracy. Perhaps it still could be. I urge all my fellow citizens to look beyond the partisan divisions of our time and vote for Ms. Johnson so we can focus on solving the urgent issues facing our area.
Jordan Wilfong
Bowling Green
