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"Circus: vuurspuger (1) by doenietzomoeilijk
I made the mistake of turning on CNN this morning. The two top stories were The Weiner Affair and the Congressional fight over the debt ceiling. What a circus! This is what passes for news at a time when we are engaged in three overt wars in the embattled Arab world (and who knows how many secret ones); when the economy is still in shambles; and when our public education system is being gutted before our very eyes.
Never mind the fact that Weiner’s indiscretion, from a purely moral point of view, is not nearly as questionable as the numerous affairs that have been admitted to many politicians who did not resign (including a current Republican presidential candidate). Never mind the fact that the real crimes being committed in Congress – the financial ones – are not even being mentioned. And never mind the fact that many of the people and companies who caused the financial crisis are now getting rich all over again while the innocents suffer.
Despite all that, our media and our Congress believe that a few ill-advised Twitter posts and the debt ceiling are our most pressing concerns. It’s like someone comes home to find that their house has been leveled by a tornado, but instead of worrying about how they are going to feed and find shelter for their family, they fuss about how to pay the credit card bill that is due in two weeks. And then they freak out about an offensive joke that their brother-in-law just posted on Facebook. Indeed, it has become one big circus.
When I was kid, back before animal rights was even a consideration, the circus was the most exciting event that came to town. There was so much to see and enjoy – the elephants and tigers, the acrobats and trapeze artists, the clowns and the funnel cakes. When that big tent went up next to the Civic Center, we all knew that we were in for a once-a-year treat.
Well – now, that the 2012 election is finally getting into gear, we are all preparing for the once-every-four-years political bonanza that will put the current media spectacles to shame. First, we’ll have a knock-down drag-out for the Republican nomination that promises to be bloody and unpredictable. Then, we’ll have the general election, where the attacks on Obama and his “socialism” will make 2008 look like, ummm, a tea party.
But before we take our seats to continue enjoying the greatest show on earth, please consider this: It’s been fun, but it’s time for the circus to leave town. There’s a reason that the real circus only stays in one place for a few days at a time. In reality, it’s a noisy, smelly, unsightful mess – and we’re always grateful when we’ve had our fill, and it moves on to the next city.
When it comes to politics and the media coverage of politics, the American people have had enough of the circus, too. No more tricks and illusions. No more annoying donkeys and bloated elephants who only seem to stink up the place. No more clowns who only play to the audience and ignore the real issues. It’s time to send all three rings, and the media that encourages them, packing.
I think we can all agree that it’s time for the circus to go. The only question, is, what does this mean? How do we get our politicians and the media focused on what matters?
A) Throwing out the elephants and the donkeys by supporting a viable third party
B) Reforming the existing parties from within by cultivating better candidates
C) Working to change the electoral system to allow for more viable choices and less corporate influence
D) Working for better media by ignoring the hacks on CNN and reading more blogs like FDL.
E) None of the above. Politics and the media will never change. The solutions will come by changing people’s hearts and minds through other avenues.
F) Who cares? I just want another funnel cake.
17 Comments
(D) looks like a good start to me. The concept of self-government depends on knowledge, and the free press was created to promote that necessary basis for democratic systems.
Agreed. And once we have better media and better national discourse, the next step will be more apparent than it is now.
A is close. Just stop voting for Democrats and Republicans. THEN viable alternatives will arise.
Fascists and traitors are exempt of course. They should continue voting for Democrats and Republicans.
I stopped watching CNN long ago. The level of “journalism” is deplorable and insulting to our intelligence.
Corporate owned, and determined to issue government propaganda.
Might as well change their name to Pravda. That’s who they truly are.
A, B and C.
Get started here.
kim kardashian made 35,000,000.00 $ on her non show
that is the state of American media
tells you everything you need to know
What about the Bilderberger meeting in Switzerland. Bill Gates and Richard Perle are supposedly attending. Oh I forgot the CIA controls our media-operation Mockingbird-so we will hear nonsense about Weiners.
In all probability he deliberately did this for a secretive payoff.
Great post, Jim, I recommended it. You right! it is time for the circus to leave town.
I think that A) is the most practical approach. However as far as 2012 is concerned, I think these candidates would have the best luck running as an Independent with the support of their local labor unions–union halls are a great place to grow democracy. It’s a little late to establish a viable third party for 2012 AND many states have a lot of hoops that can’t be met in time for 2012. But we could run citizen candidates as independents.
B) WORK WITHIN THE PARTY? NAH. The only way I would even consider working within the Democratic Party would be if they 1) Made the DLC disband and all former members publicly disavowed it. and 2) They created a platform that showed how their economic ideology was no longer based on that of Milton Friedman.
Reforming the Parties – And trying to talk corporate centrist Democrats like Hillary, Bill, Harold Ford, etc. into that shift–I think would be a waste of time. Obama isn’t an actual DLC member, but he still subscribes to and endorses their Wall Street ideology so what’s the difference? Besides these people would lie and do as they please once in office.
D) You have hit a key point here, Jim. We must work to ignore their propaganda and non-news stories. Back in 1961, Daniel J. Boorstin wrote a great book on this topic: THE IMAGE – a guide to pseudo-events in America.
E) Talking to people is key. Perhaps more important than anything else. It is at the heart of my guide to running for office and winning.
http://emmaberry.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/SO-YOU-THINK.pdf
F) I ate a funnel cake once at the Dallas Fair and it made me really ill. But if people like them and you need to bribe them to get their attention for more important issues–by all means, bring on the funnel cake.
Great ideas – now we only have to make sure that ‘the people’ don’t prefer ‘the circus’ to the great ideas – and since years I try to solve this chicken and egg problem about our media – Is it it so terrible because they show ‘the circus’? – or does ‘the circus’ just get the highest ratings and that’s why they show ‘the circus’? -Now I know that America is heavily ‘compartementalized’ you have Fox News for old farts and the daily show for young hipsters – so there should be enough people for ‘great ideas’ – but each time I find them they are just not ‘enough’ to built a critical mass – So whats about pretending to be part of ‘the circus’ and then try to impose this great ideas with a touch of a penis?
I support A), B), D) and F).
A) I’m starting to think that a 3rd party is the only way out of this mess B) Better Democrats is an option, too, and does not necessarily preclude A) Then there’s D) Better media are essential. People outside the liberal blogosphere think they think some really bizarre stuff. But they only think that stuff because that’s what they are told to think by corporate media. We need more and better fact delivery systems. (And opinion delivery systems, too.)
F) Funnel cake is excellent. I go to this one particular street fair every year because that’s where they have the best kind.
Better media, definitely. The media folk we have are trained to do one thing very well, and that’s to serve The Man. They don’t have to know anything, and so they don’t bother — it just interferes with the smooth transmission of talking points.
I”m for A and D, as long as I get some F, too . .
*G*
“Where EVERY day is Halloween and the circus never leaves town.”
From my dear Santa Cruz friends and fest pals about themselves, their fair city and our camp at a major festival twice a year.
*G*
Oh, great read Mr Moss, yer in full swing on the FDL trapeze again!
N rcc’d, of course.
*G*
I’m a contrarian kinda guy, and I can find nothing here to argue with. Amazing.
First, it’s a media circus, and I’m not going to comment on that other than to say that I’d never had a problem with a media circus surrounding the likes of Newt’s or Vidder’s extramarital affairs. Except for one difference: I’m not aware that Weiner ever commented on anyone else’s misadventures for political gain. None. As far as I know, Wiener never made biblical purity part of his political platform, or courted those who demand it. CNN and MSNBC are best avoided and have been that way for twenty years, give or take. They call it “cable news” for good and sufficient reason to try and distinguish it from “network news.”
Not that any major news outlet is any better. I cite Michael Gordon and Judith Miller of the New York Times as evidence. I know of three people I can exempt from this condemnation: those two Knight-Ridder reporters who investigated and debunked the nuclear reactor “tubes” lie Cheney and Rumsfeld were peddling back in 2003 and their editor who told them to go with it, then published that story.
Kudos to that trio.
As for the rest, I’ve been fine with a left wing third party for almost two years now. Won’t win anything, but the left’s thinking needs to be aired if progressives anywhere have a hope. I think that’s vital. All it should take is one credible candidate.
Even I have to admit this was a great post. Nothing in it gives me any hope at all, but this is not my first rodeo.
Maybe that’s why Wieners wife was smiling in a recent photo. If I did what Tony did my wife would be doing everything BUT smiling including hiring Spence as her divorce attorney.
You know? Progressives can scream, agitate, phone bank, volunteer, fund raise and vote for democrats all we want, but it’ll never get us any love. While I don’t mind a good proposal moving toward the center to gain passage through congress, I DO mind good proposals never getting the time of day. The PO was like that, the bill, and later amendment, to limit the size of US banks was like that, and more good ideas went out the window before being considered like that.
What these democrats will pass are tax, benefits and services cuts. The GOP agenda. Well Social Security went into a negative cash flow several years early because of this, and what did we get in return? A DADT repeal process and 50K jobs at McDonalds. The December deal was never anything bit a crappy trade off and a GOP win.
And exactly nobody is talking about campaign finance reform, even though the need for it is obvious. Someone should at least be talking about it. Should’ve happened a long, long time ago.
I doubt you have a problem with any of this or you wouldn’t be here.
However, if democrats are content to hand out GOP wins like those, then I feel “to hell with them” and bring on a third (or fourth) party. You may have a problem with this, and I understand perfectly. For me, keeping the GOP out of office is only half the battle. The other half is capturing the debate, by forcing the party leftwards. Through electoral culling. I am convinced we need to do both. But right now, the latter is more important.