Political advertisements are something that is very monumental in today’s society. Historically, it has been used to promote the views of candidates. However, political ads have a reputation of being negative and divisive which affects the way we interpret who is right for our government.

Oftentimes political ads consist of information that is irrelevant. The content tends to be very meniscal and inaccurate. False narratives are created. It leads people to hone in on things that do not matter when it comes to choosing political leaders. People conjecture choices and debates on information that does not influence someone’s ability to understand government. Leaders should be chosen based on the ability to lead, not what we think about their personal lives.

Political ads diminish the credibility of the other candidate’s opponent. Leaving room for voters to pick sides which creates a fanbase and not supporters. Due to the negative tactics used in ads, there is a source of entertainment involved, and this creates fanbases. The negativity results in a loss of seriousness for politics. The loss of seriousness plays out on different late night tv shows. For instance, Saturday Night Live is known for using political satire on their show. Instead of being entertained by politics, people should be supporting it. Support indicates that there are people who want to sustain their belief through a candidate that resonates with them.

Lastly, political ads create more division. Most of the time political ads enable specific opinions. When leaders support certain points of view, it makes it harder to create a compromise. This is due to people feeling more justified in their opinions, and it results in disregard for other perspectives. This has become more prevalent with the 2020 election. With growing racial tensions and different views on the pandemic, America is experiencing heightened political tension, and the recent ads surrounding this election does not make it any better. For example, most of the ads make specific attacks on certain candidates. There are a lot of attacks on the performance of Donald Trump and Joe Biden. This adds to political division because it activates a response from supporters of both parties. It also further exposes the weaknesses of our country. It makes the leadership within our country very questionable.

In the end, political ads primarily focus on the negative. Making it hard to decipher who is right for our government. To make political ads more positive leaders should focus their promotion on their plans to govern the people. They should concentrate on things such as healthcare, education, and the economy. Those things have a greater impact on the lives of everyday people. That is the criteria that should be considered when determining what makes a great politician. Leaders should be chosen based on skill and how confident we are in their ability to serve citizens.