NIC: Trustee decries campaigns

Listening to political campaign rhetoric, reading The Press (including letters to the editor), and campaign fliers I have concluded that numerous people with political aspirations should be ashamed. It is a sad day in America when candidates for local and federal offices all the way to the presidency use deception to get a few extra votes. They convince themselves that the end justifies the means. They believe that being elected is more important than their honesty. Something is wrong in the judgment of those candidates who knowingly deceive the electorate and call it strategy or “just a campaign tactic.” I am sorry, but it is purposely misleading the people. There are those who just assume that candidates for office are honest. They willingly accept the deceit as truth.

While we owe it to the voters to be honest, we also have a responsibility before God to tell the truth. The Bible makes it very clear that we are to be obedient to God in truth telling. Deut. 11:26-28 says Those who obey God, He will bless; those who disobey Him, He will curse. Politicians all over America use deception in their campaign speeches then conclude their speeches by saying, “God bless America.” That is hypocrisy! The kind of respect our Founding Fathers who wrote the Declaration of Independence had for God no longer exists with too many leaders and aspiring leaders. Evoking God by saying God bless America becomes nothing more than a cliche.

For the most part I have been speaking in generalities. However, what bothers me the most about the deceptive campaign literature some of it was distributed by people that I agree with philosophically and politically. Since I was not a candidate for an elected office, most of the deception did not affect me personally. However, I am offended by the NIC Board of Trustees candidates who accuse the present board of outrageous tax increases and wasteful spending. It is amazing how you can separate figures from the larger picture of the various sources of revenue and expenditures regarding North Idaho College. Accusing the board of wasteful spending is an affront to my integrity. Every meeting we had dealing with the budget we discussed the impact our decisions would have on the taxpayer. At a time when there was a 46 percent increase in the enrollment and a decrease in state appropriations we sharpened our pencils and tightened our belts to balance the budget. As a board we were not always in agreement, but we worked together and compromised for the good of the college and the taxpaying citizens of Kootenai County. For those of you who purposefully used deceit and made false accusations it is time to acknowledge and repent of your wrongful behavior.

I close my remarks not with God bless America but with GOD HELP AMERICA!

RON VIESELMEYER

Coeur d’Alene