I’ve come to believe that the leadership quality of candidates has steadily declined since we started seeing televised “debates.” And selecting presidential candidates via multiple state primaries is a recipe for disaster.
Power of the written word. And I support print and libraries. Online disappears and can be altered. There must always be print, I pray. I assimilate so much better with print as I can annotate. Online is just fleeting. ... just me......
My mom became focused on physical attractiveness as a trait for office. Like that visual would serve our country's imagine better than the other candidate. Shows the power of visual.
The bedrock is words spoken/ written and written policy statements. The rest is fluff.
Ridiculous spectacle is one of the means that the tool of corrupt oligarchs known as the Republican House Caucus uses to confuse and demoralize Americans to delegitimize government in the service of the deconstruction of democracy.
Sean Hannity is so nauseating! Plus, he’s a real lover of the spotlight! Just don’t see how anyone can trust him because, like Trump, he’s only looking out for himself! However, he fits in with most of his Fox cohorts!
The right wing propaganda machine has convinced the MAGA crowd that what they believe in is not fascism. They are claiming that fascism is a far left concept, which is wrong. Prager U was doing this several years ago.
Opposites game. Instituting the opposites-game confuses and befuddles normal people just tryin' to live life. ..... (use to be a song 70's/80's, lyrics included: wear it down, tear it down)...
wasn't he identified as being connected to the J6 interconnections? These types become further emboldened. Being identified is probably a badge of courage.
It is very helpful to read your commentary on Fox News role in destabilizing our democracy. What kinds of actions would help to counteract this phenomena? Are mass demonstrations needed to overwhelm the media focus on spectacle and to demand responsible news commentary and political leadership by calling the Republican party and the major media to account? Are there recent historical examples of successful efforts to counter such abuses of sound governance as Hannity's manipulations?
Good question. I just heard some other commentators on MSNBC referring to FOX as FOX Entertainment. That’s actually what it is. It’s obviously a very small step, but it’s something ;)
And humor a powerful ingredient. Catches people's attention, it's memorable and they repeat it like you just did. And now I can, and so the chain of humor goes with us. I don't think there is true humor in corruption. Like I don't think you do a political cartoon to bolster your stance. Humor only works against corruption?
Mockery? Consistently call them out, rename EVERYTHING "Fox Entertainment" is good -- "Fake Politicians", "Political Fraudsters", "Pols in Arrested Development", etc, etc, etc. Let's put on our creative thinking caps and be relentless.
That could be a bigger step then it seems, actually. Ruth is always talking about how important language is and how important it is to name things correctly. Like how "election denile" is not really a good word. Because they are not really in denial. They know full well what they are doing. But we don't have the language. "Fox Entertainment" is perfectly fitting!
Feels like a game of older sibling bullying "Why you hitting yourself, Why you hitting yourself"?
These jerks degrade our government and then point at it with disgust, pointing out how degraded it is. They manipulate the media into their elite mouthpieces, then lament that the media is broken and not serving middle interests. They make our government totally dysfunctional then complain how dysfunctional government is.
I'm so stinkin tired of it. Why can't we just have basic, earnestly executed law enforcement to at least try to take a bite out of this authoritarian attack? SO FRUSTRATING.
Yes, I saw that and could not agree more. It’s interesting that you would use the word spectacle too, because I was just listening to an amazing man called Richard Rohr, who was talking about the disguises that evil puts on to fool us. He was talking about how we prefer spectacle over the more subtle and muddy aspects of reality. Good (in this case) is loud, charismatic, engaging and promoted - solving complexities with pat answers - especially ones that demonize others. Evil, I guess, is anything else. I laughed and cringed when Trump said, in his announcement speech that we were miserable. We just didn’t realize it yet.
Those with fantasy prone personality (FPP) are easy prey for sociopathic fascists like Trump. What we're seeing is the symbiosis between a destructive charismatic leader and his needy followers.
How can we as pro-democracy folks counter that and fill that need? Do we need more air-time? More arts and culture? More music? More picnics and less internet time?
I think our media needs to identify dangerous sociopaths in power positions before they gain enough power to cause damage. I'm fairly sure George Santo is one...... and of course Trump is as well. Charles Koch is a sociopath, and his love of authoritarianism is quite typical for these people.
Remember back-in-the-day when government seemed boring? I just want to do a shout-out for boring. Sometimes things just 'are', and they are good.
I think this era has taught us though that we can't fall asleep @ the wheel anymore. Spectacle and showmanship for persuasion turns me off personally. I am more a white-paper, facts only gal. But there has to be some middle ground we (pro-democracy folks) to use neon lights etc to get our communications to be noticed, yet true.
Thanks for the Richard Rohr mention, I'm going to look him up. TY
I would be so happy to be bored again by politics. I went from feeling like it is a world unto itself to feeling like I’m on a bus driven by a six-year old. Richard Rohr is a very smart, philosophical, Franciscan mystic. May or may not be your cup of tea, but I love his wit, humility and wisdom.
The whole GOP/MAGA scenario makes me sick. McCarney always has his body turned as if to make a quick exit whenever he is being questioned. Hannity broadcasting from the Capitol was shocking and deeply disturbing to me. Isn't MTG sitting on the Oversight and Homeland Security Commission a threat to our own national security? They all want to make Bannon's objective of bringing down the government a reality.
Seems like the spectacle and lies are part of the continuous performance of anti-democratic ritual that serves to keep the believers in their trance. People aren't as stupid as they seem, they are just spellbound. We need democracy inducing rites to snap people out of it (or maybe an exorcism!).
As I said yesterday, whenever the state melds with a privately owned media company or any privately owned company, in this case to disseminate propaganda and disinformation for a particular political party, it should be seen as an element of fascism.
When our media does not show all candidates for president equally, we run the risk of having candidates and presidents that only the media approves. If our corporate based media does not like a candidate that shows disdain for corporatocracy, we will see elected officials that favor corporate power. Our plutocratic oligarchy needs to maintain itself, and it does it via the media. Unfortunately, there is a strong connection between coporate power and fascism. It's no accident that one of the first actions taken by Trump, was lowering the corporate tax rate... A quid pro quo.
You will notice that Fox and Newsmax have plenty of corporate sponsors. If we had no fascism advocates in the corporate arena, these news shows would not get sponsored and would not be on the air.
And yet earlier in the year in the wake of poor midterm election results, Murdoch's media outlets were all poo pooing Trump. On the cover of the NY Post Humpty Trumpy had a great fall couldn't build a great wall etc. Were typical headlines of how Trump had lost luster and was seen as a loser for the party. Now Kevin McCarthy and his extremist band of MAGA fascists in the house are getting gung-ho support and coverage from the great Murdock media empire to further disseminate Republican propaganda, lies and conspiracy theories. It was earlier reported that Murdoch was done with Trump and wanted to move on. I wonder if there is a slow motion snap back going on?
Sadly it's not just Fox or even the rest of the right wing media ecosystem. The corporate media is just as guilty. Everyone from Chuck Todd to Jake Tapper to the former GOP operatives on MSNBC turn everything into "both sides" even when there is no justification for both sides. During the entirety of the Trump years (we won't even go back to Nixon, Raygun, and W) the corporate media bent over backwards to create false equivalency. Sucking up to Putin, just like Carter negotiating with Sadat. Making Kim Jong Un into a statesman, just like Obama doing the Iran Deal. Trump's non-stop lies, well all politicians lie. (and don't get me started on George Santos) The failure of the Fourth Estate to speak truth to power when Republicans hold that power is killing us, and is killing democracy because keeps too many Americans from knowing what's really going on.
I'm old enough to remember that public sentiment turned hard against the Vietnam War when Walter Cronkite did his reporting from the war, and blew up the bullshit that was being spewed by Gen. Westmoreland and Lyndon Johnson. We need a new Cronkite or Edward R. Murrow to cut thru the bothsiderism and give us the unvarnished facts.
Agree with this deep analysis. I am drawn to phrase 'public sentiment'. Sentiment is word of good. Does sentiment mean or refer 'good intent'? It's like that is an ingredient missing into today's recipe. An example (while religious example, it is the most paramount in my mind) is when public sentiment would drive up weekly attendance at church, droves of people would go after a major disaster, etc. We were more in lock step emotionally -- for the good of mankind. Now there is TOO much news, TOO many sources and thus too many opportunities for people of ill-intent. Since technology is the genie-out-of-the-bottle already --- how can we (older tribes elders) re-construct or direct the re-development of the concept/ feeling of 'sentiment'? (I'm recalling my directional Garmin lady's voice repeating "Recalculating, recalculating"). The internet is at the intersection of much of this, how do we contain? www=wild, wild west. Are people in charge, or is the internet a un-manned/un-personed vehicle in charge?
Thank you Ruth for sharing this important essay with us. This essay is both compelling and horrifying all at the same time. I am gobsmacked at how our democracy has been manipulated, degraded and destabilized. I’ve come to believe “political leadership” is an oxymoron of the worst kind
As I watch Nicole Wallace interview Eric Swalwell about “Insurrection, LLC”, the new House majority, I am thinking I want to cry. I never cry about politics. I’m angry, but weeping like one does after a loved one dies or hearing of a mass school shooting or the ambush and murder of a black man out for a jog, is not what I should be experiencing when the other party in Congress gets to make the rules! This is madness! FOX is madness! FOX is news is madness! MJT, Gosar, Perry Santos (or whatever the fork his name is) are madness! Nihilists in the House are madness! Stupidity on full display is madness! And now, business as usual is madness!
As a therapist by training and experience, I know that anger and sadness intersect in the emotional sphere. I also know we say, “take care of ourselves, take a break”. I’ve done that. It’s not helpful because when I return, I return to unfathomable MADNESS! I won’t say it’s can’t get worse because we should know by now that it will.
I’m venting. I know what I need to do and the actions I will continue to do moving forward, but holy S***! This is MADNESS!
Sending you our pro-democracy love. I feel your pain. As we all fight this corrosive corruption it's good stay rooted in Love is the opposite of corruption. Corruption cannot exist in an environment of love. They are the most polar opposites. When I can't fight corruption, I work really hard to spread authentic love and caring for that day....... says the woman who couldn't get outta bed yesterday.
I’ve come to believe that the leadership quality of candidates has steadily declined since we started seeing televised “debates.” And selecting presidential candidates via multiple state primaries is a recipe for disaster.
Power of the written word. And I support print and libraries. Online disappears and can be altered. There must always be print, I pray. I assimilate so much better with print as I can annotate. Online is just fleeting. ... just me......
My mom became focused on physical attractiveness as a trait for office. Like that visual would serve our country's imagine better than the other candidate. Shows the power of visual.
The bedrock is words spoken/ written and written policy statements. The rest is fluff.
Ridiculous spectacle is one of the means that the tool of corrupt oligarchs known as the Republican House Caucus uses to confuse and demoralize Americans to delegitimize government in the service of the deconstruction of democracy.
Deconstruction
Sean Hannity is so nauseating! Plus, he’s a real lover of the spotlight! Just don’t see how anyone can trust him because, like Trump, he’s only looking out for himself! However, he fits in with most of his Fox cohorts!
Hannity would have to wear a swastika arm-band before his thick headed fans would have any clue about what he was selling.
They would be hyper charged...not offended! This is ‘contagion’.
The right wing propaganda machine has convinced the MAGA crowd that what they believe in is not fascism. They are claiming that fascism is a far left concept, which is wrong. Prager U was doing this several years ago.
Opposites game. Instituting the opposites-game confuses and befuddles normal people just tryin' to live life. ..... (use to be a song 70's/80's, lyrics included: wear it down, tear it down)...
Yes, the wild Pandemic of Lying (xxxx-xxxx). Misinformation is too kind a word.
wasn't he identified as being connected to the J6 interconnections? These types become further emboldened. Being identified is probably a badge of courage.
It is very helpful to read your commentary on Fox News role in destabilizing our democracy. What kinds of actions would help to counteract this phenomena? Are mass demonstrations needed to overwhelm the media focus on spectacle and to demand responsible news commentary and political leadership by calling the Republican party and the major media to account? Are there recent historical examples of successful efforts to counter such abuses of sound governance as Hannity's manipulations?
Good question. I just heard some other commentators on MSNBC referring to FOX as FOX Entertainment. That’s actually what it is. It’s obviously a very small step, but it’s something ;)
And humor a powerful ingredient. Catches people's attention, it's memorable and they repeat it like you just did. And now I can, and so the chain of humor goes with us. I don't think there is true humor in corruption. Like I don't think you do a political cartoon to bolster your stance. Humor only works against corruption?
Mockery? Consistently call them out, rename EVERYTHING "Fox Entertainment" is good -- "Fake Politicians", "Political Fraudsters", "Pols in Arrested Development", etc, etc, etc. Let's put on our creative thinking caps and be relentless.
I agree. This and when humor is found, it is remembered and shared. I agree so with you Jeanne.
Jeanne, great ideas!
That could be a bigger step then it seems, actually. Ruth is always talking about how important language is and how important it is to name things correctly. Like how "election denile" is not really a good word. Because they are not really in denial. They know full well what they are doing. But we don't have the language. "Fox Entertainment" is perfectly fitting!
Everyone should watch the movie, Idiocracy. It was produced by Fox and has a scene in which Fox News is THE news.
Sly like a fox
Agree, to counteract this phenomena -- what are the steps to un-do this malarkey?
Feels like a game of older sibling bullying "Why you hitting yourself, Why you hitting yourself"?
These jerks degrade our government and then point at it with disgust, pointing out how degraded it is. They manipulate the media into their elite mouthpieces, then lament that the media is broken and not serving middle interests. They make our government totally dysfunctional then complain how dysfunctional government is.
I'm so stinkin tired of it. Why can't we just have basic, earnestly executed law enforcement to at least try to take a bite out of this authoritarian attack? SO FRUSTRATING.
Agree 100%. They have the opposites-game down pat. How do we expose THAT? yikes.
Supporting good law enforcement / public servants out there, 100+%.
Yes, I saw that and could not agree more. It’s interesting that you would use the word spectacle too, because I was just listening to an amazing man called Richard Rohr, who was talking about the disguises that evil puts on to fool us. He was talking about how we prefer spectacle over the more subtle and muddy aspects of reality. Good (in this case) is loud, charismatic, engaging and promoted - solving complexities with pat answers - especially ones that demonize others. Evil, I guess, is anything else. I laughed and cringed when Trump said, in his announcement speech that we were miserable. We just didn’t realize it yet.
On and on…
Those with fantasy prone personality (FPP) are easy prey for sociopathic fascists like Trump. What we're seeing is the symbiosis between a destructive charismatic leader and his needy followers.
How can we as pro-democracy folks counter that and fill that need? Do we need more air-time? More arts and culture? More music? More picnics and less internet time?
I think our media needs to identify dangerous sociopaths in power positions before they gain enough power to cause damage. I'm fairly sure George Santo is one...... and of course Trump is as well. Charles Koch is a sociopath, and his love of authoritarianism is quite typical for these people.
I agree. And once they get bitten by that authoritarian bug, the greed envelopes them like quicksand, they are lost. The love of money becomes a drug.
Yup…
Remember back-in-the-day when government seemed boring? I just want to do a shout-out for boring. Sometimes things just 'are', and they are good.
I think this era has taught us though that we can't fall asleep @ the wheel anymore. Spectacle and showmanship for persuasion turns me off personally. I am more a white-paper, facts only gal. But there has to be some middle ground we (pro-democracy folks) to use neon lights etc to get our communications to be noticed, yet true.
Thanks for the Richard Rohr mention, I'm going to look him up. TY
I would be so happy to be bored again by politics. I went from feeling like it is a world unto itself to feeling like I’m on a bus driven by a six-year old. Richard Rohr is a very smart, philosophical, Franciscan mystic. May or may not be your cup of tea, but I love his wit, humility and wisdom.
The whole GOP/MAGA scenario makes me sick. McCarney always has his body turned as if to make a quick exit whenever he is being questioned. Hannity broadcasting from the Capitol was shocking and deeply disturbing to me. Isn't MTG sitting on the Oversight and Homeland Security Commission a threat to our own national security? They all want to make Bannon's objective of bringing down the government a reality.
Seems like the spectacle and lies are part of the continuous performance of anti-democratic ritual that serves to keep the believers in their trance. People aren't as stupid as they seem, they are just spellbound. We need democracy inducing rites to snap people out of it (or maybe an exorcism!).
Trance
Yes, and it’s actually Fox Entertainment. That’s how they get away with some of these ridiculous and dangerous spectacles .
And maybe how they get away with selling fascism to the masses.
As I said yesterday, whenever the state melds with a privately owned media company or any privately owned company, in this case to disseminate propaganda and disinformation for a particular political party, it should be seen as an element of fascism.
When our media does not show all candidates for president equally, we run the risk of having candidates and presidents that only the media approves. If our corporate based media does not like a candidate that shows disdain for corporatocracy, we will see elected officials that favor corporate power. Our plutocratic oligarchy needs to maintain itself, and it does it via the media. Unfortunately, there is a strong connection between coporate power and fascism. It's no accident that one of the first actions taken by Trump, was lowering the corporate tax rate... A quid pro quo.
You will notice that Fox and Newsmax have plenty of corporate sponsors. If we had no fascism advocates in the corporate arena, these news shows would not get sponsored and would not be on the air.
And yet earlier in the year in the wake of poor midterm election results, Murdoch's media outlets were all poo pooing Trump. On the cover of the NY Post Humpty Trumpy had a great fall couldn't build a great wall etc. Were typical headlines of how Trump had lost luster and was seen as a loser for the party. Now Kevin McCarthy and his extremist band of MAGA fascists in the house are getting gung-ho support and coverage from the great Murdock media empire to further disseminate Republican propaganda, lies and conspiracy theories. It was earlier reported that Murdoch was done with Trump and wanted to move on. I wonder if there is a slow motion snap back going on?
re-grouping and trying again?
Sadly it's not just Fox or even the rest of the right wing media ecosystem. The corporate media is just as guilty. Everyone from Chuck Todd to Jake Tapper to the former GOP operatives on MSNBC turn everything into "both sides" even when there is no justification for both sides. During the entirety of the Trump years (we won't even go back to Nixon, Raygun, and W) the corporate media bent over backwards to create false equivalency. Sucking up to Putin, just like Carter negotiating with Sadat. Making Kim Jong Un into a statesman, just like Obama doing the Iran Deal. Trump's non-stop lies, well all politicians lie. (and don't get me started on George Santos) The failure of the Fourth Estate to speak truth to power when Republicans hold that power is killing us, and is killing democracy because keeps too many Americans from knowing what's really going on.
I'm old enough to remember that public sentiment turned hard against the Vietnam War when Walter Cronkite did his reporting from the war, and blew up the bullshit that was being spewed by Gen. Westmoreland and Lyndon Johnson. We need a new Cronkite or Edward R. Murrow to cut thru the bothsiderism and give us the unvarnished facts.
Agree with this deep analysis. I am drawn to phrase 'public sentiment'. Sentiment is word of good. Does sentiment mean or refer 'good intent'? It's like that is an ingredient missing into today's recipe. An example (while religious example, it is the most paramount in my mind) is when public sentiment would drive up weekly attendance at church, droves of people would go after a major disaster, etc. We were more in lock step emotionally -- for the good of mankind. Now there is TOO much news, TOO many sources and thus too many opportunities for people of ill-intent. Since technology is the genie-out-of-the-bottle already --- how can we (older tribes elders) re-construct or direct the re-development of the concept/ feeling of 'sentiment'? (I'm recalling my directional Garmin lady's voice repeating "Recalculating, recalculating"). The internet is at the intersection of much of this, how do we contain? www=wild, wild west. Are people in charge, or is the internet a un-manned/un-personed vehicle in charge?
Jan, these are great questions. One must look hard to find “news”. We are over saturated with garbage. That’s one reason I’m here!
Thank you Ruth for sharing this important essay with us. This essay is both compelling and horrifying all at the same time. I am gobsmacked at how our democracy has been manipulated, degraded and destabilized. I’ve come to believe “political leadership” is an oxymoron of the worst kind
As I watch Nicole Wallace interview Eric Swalwell about “Insurrection, LLC”, the new House majority, I am thinking I want to cry. I never cry about politics. I’m angry, but weeping like one does after a loved one dies or hearing of a mass school shooting or the ambush and murder of a black man out for a jog, is not what I should be experiencing when the other party in Congress gets to make the rules! This is madness! FOX is madness! FOX is news is madness! MJT, Gosar, Perry Santos (or whatever the fork his name is) are madness! Nihilists in the House are madness! Stupidity on full display is madness! And now, business as usual is madness!
As a therapist by training and experience, I know that anger and sadness intersect in the emotional sphere. I also know we say, “take care of ourselves, take a break”. I’ve done that. It’s not helpful because when I return, I return to unfathomable MADNESS! I won’t say it’s can’t get worse because we should know by now that it will.
I’m venting. I know what I need to do and the actions I will continue to do moving forward, but holy S***! This is MADNESS!
Sending you our pro-democracy love. I feel your pain. As we all fight this corrosive corruption it's good stay rooted in Love is the opposite of corruption. Corruption cannot exist in an environment of love. They are the most polar opposites. When I can't fight corruption, I work really hard to spread authentic love and caring for that day....... says the woman who couldn't get outta bed yesterday.
Spellbinding summary of the root problem.