It is election year and political opponents will soon take the gloves off to cast the usual aspersions on each other based on which side of the political spectrum they sit on.

Right-leaning politicians are likely to be cast as devotees of Wall Street arch-villain Gordon Gekko and his “greed is good” ethos, the left drafted into the poor-and-jealous brigade, and more environmentally minded parties cast as caring more about trees than people.

The mud-slinging started early in the year with Judith Collins calling Metiria Turei sensitive and a bad dresser, following the Greens' accusation of racism towards National MPs. As early as last week David Cunliffe was defending tax hikes because the rich “can afford it.”

So already we have poor taste, racism and fat cats in the mix.

Yet as fun as the election slagging match can be, we as voters need to do some big-picture analysis, and vote for the policies and values we align with, not the impressions about a wider group based on character assassinations.

Yes, there are people who will fit these crude stereotypes, but equally you are likely to find capitalists who are concerned about the welfare of the poor, greenies who strive for balanced growth, and even some on the left who see a freer economy as a route to prosperity.

Society is a melting pot. Grand agendas probably do exist, but they are generally on the fringes, as are conspiracies. Election year should be an opportunity for everyone to think about policy, not theatrics.

So far, with six months to go until the election, we have seen only a smattering of major policy announcements: National’s education programme, Labour’s financial package aimed at young families, the proposed tax breaks for the forestry sector, and their alliance with the Greens to reshape the electricity market under a single buyer model.

Other than that, there is very little to go on. There have been character aspersions aplenty, and almost definitely more to come but what we want to see is less theatre and more policy so that we can make informed, not emotive, choices.

After all, our duty as voters is to think outside that box we are ticking.