Elections are approaching. For political parties, they are the Olympic Games — a chance to reset the balance of power on the big stage. That is why the rhetoric is getting harsher and the tone sharper. Friends no longer recognize friends and bridges are burned not only behind but also ahead.

Some aspects of public communication are downright irritating.

In Estonian, as is well known, there are four moods of speech: indicative, imperative, conditional and quotative. Today, however, two more have emerged: whining and nagging. Or combinations thereof, like "confidently whining" or "commandingly nagging."

The main subject of whining is money. Either there isn't enough, it is being misused or people don't know how to earn it. The overuse of the word "money" has already reached an extreme. The signs that media discourse wouldn't move beyond money were already in the air from August to December last year. The state and the people became equated with the budget. The same is true now. Whatever channel you turn on, the likelihood is extremely high that someone will be talking about money.

The favorite topic is the car tax. The word (automaks) is used in Estonia right now more than the word "mother." It has become the alpha and omega of everything, as if the state either lives or dies by it. It is perfectly clear that the government fastened the first button wrong when introducing this tax, and now of course the rest don't line up either. But still, enough is enough. Elections are too important to spend a large part of the debate on something that accounts for less than 0.1 percent of total tax revenue. What issues, because of this, are left undiscussed?

Why does talk about money dominate so completely? I think there are two reasons. One is media fashion: if someone is talking about it, others feel they must as well. The second reason is that money is easy to talk about. Four hundred euros more, five hundred less, 0.25 percent here or there — filling hours with such speculation creates the impression that "I'm standing with my people's interests."

Writer Roy T. Bennett once listed 15 things money cannot buy: time, happiness, peace of mind, honesty, love, character, manners, health, respect, morals, trust, patience, style, common sense and dignity.

Has anyone heard these words used in an election campaign? They don't exist in pre-election Estonia. For the sake of talking about money, all of them are sacrificed — above all, manners, style and dignity. Everyone is following the old Soviet joke: Armenian Radio was asked if there would be love under communism. The radio answered: no, because "no money, no love."

This total fixation on money means no one has the time or space left to talk about bigger things. Goals and means have been confused. Right now, the impression is that because of a lack of money, Estonia is some miserable backwater, a poor and unfortunate state. But it's not true. No one denies that life has suffered after the pandemic and during the war in Ukraine, but to sink into despair is clear exaggeration. After all, we are not at war.

In this atmosphere of money, car tax and whining, it is easy to lose sight of what is most valuable: pride in one's country and people. I would place more trust in the people. Only a handful flee to the Canary Islands out of war panic, companies and individuals are working hard to find ways out of the major problems caused by COVID and war. Theater tickets are impossible to get, university admissions are at record highs and the mushroom harvest is extraordinary. Estonia enjoyed the Song Festival and conquered Riga in support of our basketball team. Estonia and the Estonian people are better than what this election campaign suggests.

Of course, mine is just one way of looking at things. It is up to each person to decide what to listen to and whom to believe.

But when some political preacher in his party's church folds his arms across his chest and declares: "Let us all read this article from that portal together and let us whine!" — at least I reserve the right not to join in.

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