Yes, you heard me right.
The conventions are, quite possibly, the single largest spin executions possible within our political system. I don't watch them because I understand that what you see on the TV screen is a carefully crafted image, a fantasy, concocted by hundreds (even thousands) of very smart people. They spend a ton of money and exert all their professional skill to craft and sell an image, a fantasy, to the viewer.
I'm not sure which galls me more: the fact that they do it or the fact that millions of viewers tune in and lap it all up.
I'm bipartisan in this opinion; both parties do the same thing. They do it because they understand that most people choose a presidential candidate the same way they choose a car or a house; they fall in love first, then seek logical justifications to salve their inner guilt over a lack of rational thought and action.
It's almost enough to make one confess to being a closet Hamiltonian.
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2 comments:
Too bad we don't all know politics as well as you do!... (:
I agree, many people (me included), need to do more research and find more importance in understanding the issues at hand in our nation, state, city...it's interesting, though, how life creates a distraction from ALWAYS making politics a priority. However, I find it impractical to assume that each individual will really educate themselves as well as they should to really make perfect choices in government on every issue or with every candidate in any office.
I do my best to follow what I can, but really, I think it is helpful to glean what I can from both parties (and "non-parties") in order to understand the decisions/policies at hand.
I watched much of both conventions this year...while I didn't start out with tons of knowledge, I feel like I came away with a better understanding of the two parties "agendas" and issues. Perhaps I was "captivated" by a calculated presentation...but at least I can say I'm more informed in a general sense than I had done nothing to learn.
Any thoughts on balancing politics and living life at the same time?
Well, I can say that the balancing act is much easier when the nest is empty. :)
As for minimizing time, I'd suggest finding a few "pundits" who are worth reading or listening to. My criteria are that they be intelligent, articulate, non-partisan and, for lack of a better word, calm. (Foamy-mouthed people aren't worth listening to.) It's also probably a good idea if they are not entertainers such as Limbaugh, O'Reilly, or Franken.
My top three choices are George Will (conservative), Anna Quindlen (liberal), and Fareed Zakaria (neutral). By a grand stroke of luck, all three write columns for Newsweek magazine (even though they each have multiple commentary gigs on other media outlets).
Ideology doesn't bother me as long as it is principled and reasoned. Partisanship bugs me more and more as time passes; it just seems like the worst possible way to make decisions.
Zakaria's recent book, "The Post-American World", has an exceptionally lucid section on how America's political system has evolved into looming dysfunctionality. Let me know if you'd like to borrow it.
And, by the way, thank you for a lucid and thoughtful comment. I get so few of those LOL.
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