#ThisMustStop

Thank goodness I get to cover advancements in medical device design and manufacturing because I’m pretty sure if I was working a beat covering the U.S. presidential primaries I’d be ready for a career change. Today’s news is being slimmed down to what garners the hashtag of the hour.

At this stage of the presidential primaries, campaigns on both sides are screaming about how the primary process is #Flawed, #Rigged, and #Corrupt, and how their opponents are trying to #StealTheNomination. This complaint seems to have been around for as long as the primary process has been used, but in 2016, candidates and strategists talk of riots, rage, and disruption at the #NationalConventions this summer, and the media plays it up 24/7.

Are we back in the early 1900s? Maybe we’re back to the 1800s?

According to The Library of Congress, “…Before 1900, many sought to reform these conventions that uniformly ignored the will of individual voters in their selection of presidential candidates. Though these conventions were attended by delegates sent from their respective states, delegates were often chosen by state and party bosses with sway over the delegates’ loyalties, instead of by state-wide or majority elections (primaries). Before the 1920s, party bosses were often accused of trading convention floor votes for power, patronage, or cash.”

At least I know we’re in 2016 because there’s a new # nearly every hour trending from national news coverage, turning this primary into a #PoliticalRealityShow.

Media outlets are feeding us this reality show approach. They jump on sound bites they know will quickly become a Tweet, which is of course re-Tweeted and spread fast on social media. Look at how fast #ContestedConventions and #GestapoTactics became threads.

My response: #ThisMustStop.

There is so much that needs to be supported and developed right here in our own country. Each day I learn about successes in medical developments and manufacturing – a quadriplegic man regains the ability to pick up objects, stir liquids, and play video games using his own thoughts (http://goo.gl/GNfWVw); Abiomed’s Impella receiving FDA approval to treat patients who suffer cardiac shock after heart attack or heart surgery (http://goo.gl/WxuHkE); and companies developing more advanced stereolithography materials for 3D printed parts (http://goo.gl/sM7Jjs).

Our candidates need to talk about policies impacting our country – domestic and international. How about #Manufacturing? Those of us in the industry know it is the backbone of economic growth and stability of a country. You need to know where candidates stand on it – from those running for president to those in your own home district. Candidates must talk about how they will handle our country as president, such as what they will do to address #Terrorism, #ISIS, #InternationalRelations, and #InternationalTroopDeployments…to name a few issues.

Let’s replace attention-grabbing sound bites and hashtags with thoughts, actions, and platforms that will help us today and in the future. As a start, I suggest we promote #USEconomy, #Manufacturing, and #SkilledWorkforce. ~Elizabeth