Over the years, the effectiveness of negative ads in campaigns has increased. Elections are often won on the weakness of one candidate over another, instead of on the merits or strengths of a plan, platform, issue or candidate. Recently, negative ads have been giving way to fear ads, scare-tactics, despigned to manipulate the voting public. In the last national election, the main issues were divisive, designed to polarize the electorate into voting against certain issues, groups, topics or possibilities.

The upcoming election isn't shaping up to much different. Whatever your political affiliation, personal beliefs, choices or preferences, Do Not Vote From Fear believes the time has come to stop voting in fear, to stop voting against various groups, issues, areas of the country or candidates. In effect, stop voting against and start voting for something.

That isn't just word-play, it means we have to stop and think about what we want to see, what our problems are, what issues we care about and then go find the candidate/party/platform that best fits what we think, not the other way around.

It also means we stop rewarding the fear campaigns, the attack ads, the negative advertising. We look past the rhetoric and the one-liners and keep looking for the issues we care about: who has thought about them and what they've said about it.

Franklin D. Roosevelt was right 77 years ago: The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.