How much is too much pathos in political advertisement?

Dom Cuzzolina
Nov 2 · 3 min read
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/kelsey-grammer-crime-victims-amendment-tv-ad-1154178

I was watching the World Series last week when on came a longer version of this political ad.

My first reaction was sympathy for a person who went through such a horrifying experience, made even worse by the lack of basic rights she received throughout the process. However, after the commercial ended, I started wondering more about the contents of Marsy’s Law. What piqued my curiosity is how much they relied on emotion to explain so little about what voting on the amendment would accomplish.

So, I did what any respectable voter does — use Wikipedia. And I found this:

The ACLU has criticized Marsy’s Law for undermining due process, for being poorly drafted, and for being a threat to existing constitutional rights.

Not a good look. I dug a little deeper and found that both the ACLU and the League of Women Voters filed a law-suit in the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court just this month. It seems like their argument is that, while some of the measures of Marsy’s Law are well-intentioned, much is too broad or just plain unconstitutional.

https://www.aclupa.org/

Here’s a statement from the ACLU’s PA Chapter newsletter that best explains their issues with the amendment:

Supporters of the proposed amendment argue that people who have been victims of crime should have “co-equal” rights with people who have been accused. While that argument may appeal to our sense of fairness, it devalues why the constitution includes protections for people who have been accused of crimes. A person who has been arrested or charged is facing the full weight of the government, which is trying to deprive them of their life, liberty, or property.

Marsy’s Law establishes rights for a victim of crime before the commonwealth has proven its case, turning the presumption of innocence into “guilty until proven innocent.” It also allows the person who says they are the victim to deny information to a defendant that could establish their innocence or lessen their culpability. And the definition of “victim” in Marsy’s Law is so broad that it could include corporations.

This experience helped me realize that a perfect political ad will make a viewer feel that they have all the necessary information to make a decision.

Ironically, watching that Marsy’s Law ad led to my non-support because their presentation made me more of a skeptic than an immediate supporter. Alternatively, if I hadn’t seen that ad, it’s possible I would have gone to the polls knowing nothing about the amendment and just skipped the vote.

Though we tend to respond most to fear and heartbreak, when the emotional appeal is too heavy with too few facts, that strategy might actually backfire.

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