I am sure I need not tell anyone
that this is a Presidential Election year.
The evidence is everywhere and it is not pretty. I am writing this within 24 hours of the most
recent Republican Presidential Debate, hosted by Fox News. Actually, I use the term “Debate” only out of
respect for the system. From what I have
seen and heard and read it was more like a school yard brawl. I could not actually watch the debate because
my cable tv package does not include Fox News Channel. I do not believe I missed anything of
value.
Honestly, this nation deserves
better than what it was given last night.
The comments were misleading at best and downright false in many cases,
according to every fact-check source I viewed.
Questions from the moderators were left unanswered as the candidates
chose instead to make personal attacks on the character of their opponents -
and this within the same political party!
Reason was replaced with vulgarity.
Seldom did the candidates directly address the pressing needs of this country. They seemed to be of the opinion that they
(the candidates) are much more important that any issue of national interest. Perhaps they are correct. After all, those on stage last night have
thus far raised $243.4 million toward their campaigns. That does not include the $388.5 million
raised by the Republican candidates who have dropped out of the race. (Makes one wonder what they did with the
unspent balances in their war chest!)
That is a combined total of $631.9 million for the GOP candidates in
this election alone! Together with the
$293.44 million raised by the Democrats for their candidates and we have an
insane sum of $925.24 million wasted…for what?
[Note: These figures were reported in the New York
Times on February 22, 2016 and are based on numbers reported to the Federal
Election Commission and the IRS. They
represent amounts donated through January 2016.
The figures include money raised by the candidates themselves and by
Super-PAC’s supporting them.]
Before I go any further I must clarify that from what I
could learn there was one candidate on stage last night who did not engage in
the “smack down” approach that shamefully dominated the evening. Gov. John Kasich appeared to sincerely want
to avoid the childish behaviors of his peers and attempt to address serious
topics. Sadly it appeared he was playing
a game of solitaire while his opponents were rolling in the mud at the far
corner of the school yard.
The Debate - or should I say the
Debacle - yielded no winner. The
so-called big three - Trump, Cruz, & Rubio were the biggest losers, having
lost their dignity and character. As I
said Kasich lost the chance to have a serious conversation because no one would
play with him. The RNC lost, too. They are increasingly looking like they have
absolutely no control over their own fate.
In fact, if things continue as they have been thus far, the GOP will
lose not only the election but very likely their majority in the U. S. Senate.
We, the citizens of the United
States, have also lost. We have lost our
moral and ethical standard that once demanded a sense of integrity, decency,
and honor from our elected officials. As
I listen to the news analysts and read the opinion pages in the paper or on
social media it becomes increasingly clear that far too many of us really do
not give a rat’s tail for the values that we once held dear. Like the Romans of old who flocked to the
Coliseum to scream and incite themselves at the blood-drenched Gladiator
fights, so we have become intoxicated by the foul rhetoric, the vulgarity, the
disrespect that is set before us on stage.
We are numb to the lies and distortions madly thrown across the podiums
like lumps of coal cast into a furnace, building a fire of self-destruction
that will consume us all if we do not awaken from this political trance.
I will
freely admit that I am “old school” in many ways. For example, I have no time for “Reality
Television”. It is cheap, degrading, and
meaningless. It preys on the ego and
pride of so-called contestants. I would
even go so far as to suggest that reality tv is infiltrating these same
negative characteristics into American society.
More accurately, I suppose these characteristics have always been
present in the populace but reality tv is granting them permission to go
public. It encourages people to be “real”,
that is, to express their anger, hostility, pride, and greed for all to
see. Those who are more expressive, more
intense, more flamboyant are the ones who are deemed the stars of the show.
Sound
familiar? I see a strong parallel with
the Republican Presidential race.
Perhaps that is what happens when you let a tv reality personality enter
the race and take center stage. The
result is a lack of any serious discussion that seeks a mature response to the
issues of the day. Issues-centered
discussions are boring and predictable.
They do not draw attention to the egos on stage. Neither do they draw ratings for the network
that has invested time and money to host the debate. Therefore, like the rest of society, we have
sacrificed our dignity by promoting a raucous rumble. We have replaced politics with
entertainment. Perhaps this is the only
explanation why the Master Entertainer, Donald Trump, is leading the delegate
count so far. And that guy who is
playing solitaire while he waits for a chance to speak intelligently remains in
last pace.
by G. D. Gehr March 4, 2016
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