As the chatter reaches an almost unbearable level, we are asked to believe that lapel pins and fist bumps are as important as hungry children and jobless youths.
Who are the latter-day carnival barkers that twist the words of politicians to create bogus debates and distract voters from real issues by stirring up artificial controversies? I suspect many of the “talking points” relayed to us by media commentators are suggested by nameless television producers and slippery hacks on the payrolls of the politicians. The talking heads and worn-out print columnists who shower inanities on the public are often mere messengers.
I once read these words on a plaque that sat on the desk of a man named Ran Ide, a pioneer of educational television in Ontario:
“The trouble with the world today is that there are too many simple answers and not enough simple problems.”
And that’s especially true in the world of the media. They want simple solutions to be delivered as crisp sound bites, ignoring the complexity of the real problems bedeviling society.
With the air full of malicious nonsense, it’s no wonder that voters are confused and politicians are gun shy. How can we make sense of the visions of the candidates as presented through the distorting lens of the media?
What will be urgently needed once the tumult and the shouting dies is a clear-headed examination of the issues facing not only America but the entire world. The next American president will need brilliant advice and courageous counsel.
One way of achieving this is to assemble a group of people who have displayed brilliance in their careers. Off the top of my head I would suggest Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. But there are many more from whom to choose, and it is this kind of brainpower that the leader of the free world will need to preserve us from chaos – and possibly annihilation.
