In a time that seems like no other, we ask the question about where we are in the United States of America. Have we lost our sense of civility? Have we lost our moral compass? Does truth matter at all anymore? Who can we trust? What institutions do we trust? Is there anyone who doesn’t ;lie as far as our leaders and institutions are concerned? Whew! It is a dizzying array of questions that we must deal with in the here and now. I am not here in this blog post to defend one side and condemn another. No, I am like you; just trying to figure it out and make some observations. They are mine, so feel free to agree or disagree.
Welcome to Reality TV America. Is anyone surprised? We are an entertainment starved people who crave it every day. Finally, the main show has come to our politics we never thought possible, but should have seen coming. Why? Let’s start with the obvious, and most talked about subject of each day, President Donald Trump. He is unlike any president in my lifetime. He was elected by 67 million Americans who saw him as their only voice as part of a forgotten group who were tired of the status quo government’s way of talking about them at election time, then forgetting them during governing time. Was Donald Trump the best messenger for them ? That remains to be seen. The fact is that he was elected President , and whether we like it or not, he will remain so for four years. Yes, I have heard about the Russians, the distasteful tweets, the body slam of CNN on Pro Wrestling, the total disdain for the media, and the” fly by the seat of your ;pants” method of governing. He has shown that he knows little about politics, and is oblivious to conventional ways of governing and leading that existed in the past. My sense is that he doesn’t know what he doesn’t know in a world that he does not understand. At least half the country seems to hate him, and the other half likes him. To those who hate him, their loathing spans the gamut from personal hatred of him, to the fact that he was elected only by the Electoral College, to the personal insults against people like Joe and Mika, to real policy like Travel Bans. On the other side, the supporters love that he pokes the bear called the media, that he crawls into the gutter with whoever wants to fight him and fights back even on the pettiest of issues. To the Status quo, this behavior is unacceptable, but again , to the forgotten voices, they finally have someone who is willing to fire back at those who seem to want to get him most; the mainstream media. What has only been discussed and complained about regarding the one-sided media has turned into an all-out gutter war that plays out daily like a political reality show.. Is it attractive? No! Is it awkward? Yes! Is it effective? Not sure! Is it needed? Is the discussion of what the media should be doing in reporting truth without an agenda needed? Absolutely. If Donald Trump has done one thing in a crude and primitive way, it is to put real questions on the table that we haven’t truly discussed or debated before. He his forcing all of us to raise our level of involvement and express ourselves on issues that we have let go until now. Will anything come of it? Will anything change? Will Donald Trump survive? Will the Media tell the truth? Will truth prevail? We are in the midst of a verbal civil war, and the outcome is far from predictable. Hey, no matter what happens , it makes for great reality TV for a nation that may have lost its way; at least for the moment…..Gary Sutton.
