Politics is not for the faint of heart.
For those of us who have run for office, contemplated running for office, managed campaigns, or been on campaign staffs, we know that it is a gauntlet – not just for the candidate, but for their loved ones and those they care for.
Presidential politics is the pinnacle of campaigning. And negative politics started early in our nation’s history with the 1800 campaign between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.
Jefferson’s camp accused President Adams of having a “hideous hermaphroditical character, which has neither the force and firmness of a man, nor the gentleness and sensibility of a woman.”
In return, Adams’ men called Vice President Jefferson “a mean-spirited, low-lived fellow, the son of a half-breed Indian squaw, sired by a Virginia mulatto father.”
As the slurs piled on, Adams was labeled a fool, a hypocrite, a criminal, and a tyrant, while Jefferson was branded a weakling, an atheist, a libertine, and a coward.
Even Martha Washington succumbed to the propaganda, telling a clergyman that Jefferson was “one of the most detestable of mankind.”
It is clear that negative politics is not only not new to American politics, it somewhat originated here in the commonwealth.
That’s why for most campaigns the very first statement a new campaign manager will say to a candidate is: “Tell me everything.”
It’s not even a question. It’s a command.
It is almost like confession. And, in a way, for some, it probably is. It may even be therapeutic.
This confession prepares a campaign for any and every eventuality – and may even prepare a family for reconciliation, if possible or necessary.
Campaigns are a judgment by your peers and your private life is no longer private.
Matthew Geary knew this. He was not naïve.
I do not know why Matthew Geary, the former chief deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney from Richmond, and victim of a truly bruising political campaign in Henrico County, complete with revelations regarding infidelity, ultimately killed himself.
Some are speculating that it was politics that precipitated his suicide – specifically implying the Republican Party and its leadership are culpable. It borders on writer’s malpractice.
Not only is this amateur psychoanalysis in the public square, but there is a clear transparency in a pathetic attempt to score very cheap political points at the expense of a tragedy.
The reality is that those who are precipitating this connection may be right in why Geary took his life, but they also may be wrong.
What I am most concerned with regarding this whole evolution is Matthew.
Ultimately, whatever sins he committed, they were enough to cause him such pain and personal suffering that he took his own life.
The New York Times defines suicide as follows:
People who try to commit suicide are often trying to get away from a life situation that seems impossible to deal with. Many who make a suicide attempt are seeking relief from:
* Feeling ashamed, guilty, or like a burden to others
* Feeling like a victim
* Feelings of rejection, loss, or loneliness
And they state that suicidal behaviors may be caused by a situation or event that the person views as overwhelming, such as, emotional trauma, which certainly Geary faced.
But what was the stimulus of that emotional trauma? A political campaign that he lost in large part because the GOP abandoned him in droves? The politics or public spectacle of his life being on display?
Or, was it ultimately, his own personal remorse, shame, and demons that ended his life?
Was it his own personal absence of love? Absence of spirit? Sense of hopelessness? Or own personal hell that caused this?
I have no idea.
I am not standing in judgment at all of Matthew. At this point, everything that happened in Matthew’s life, including the unfortunate ending, is between him and God.
“I don’t have the opinion that suicides are certainly to be damned. My reason is that they do not wish to kill themselves but are overcome by the power of the devil,” says Martin Luther.
And, in more modern language,
“Assuredly we would not wish to judge anyone who resorts to self-destruction,” wrote Rev. Otto Sohn, a Lutheran Pastor in 1960. “It is impossible for us to plumb the depths of gloom into which even Christian people may sink and irresponsibly lay unholy hands upon themselves. Perhaps the Lord will not hold them responsible, but we do not know.”
And, so, I pray for Matthew. I pray for his forgiveness.
I pray for the God who gave his only begotten son Jesus Christ to pay the ultimate price on the Cross for our sins to have mercy.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Politics is a very transparent, rough, and difficult process. But the process cannot be blamed for the personal choices human beings make.
At this point, the only points we should be making is praying for Matthew, his family, and his friends. And for us all to find a way to live with and love one another in a less cynical and unforgiving manner.
