Let's make fun of Trump, bash him, etc. while we can!

[Bob Butler 54]

(11-04-2016, 11:42 AM)pbrower2a Wrote:



In case anyone has any residual  doubt about whether to vote for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton.

1. Deceit
2. Exploitative behavior
3. Lack of empathy
4. Exaggerated self-importance
5. Lack of remorse about wrong-doing
6. Recklessness
7. Superficial charm
8. Sexual predation
9. Extreme hypocrisy
10. Weakness of bonds with others

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Good to see a few serious videos among the many late night comedian replays...

The stretch of the above video that gathered my interest was the lengthy shot of the picket line where Trump supporters were sincerely repeating why they were voting for Trump.  One of the more common reasons is that he "doesn't lie". 

Which is a joke.  The old yet applicable line is the question, "How do you know if Trump is lying?"

"His lips are moving."

One of my most oft repeated points about world views and values is how groups of people can live in alternate realities.  They can be thoroughly invested in entirely different ways of perceiving the world, quite sincerely, and be incapable of questioning their own beliefs or accepting facts that conflict with their beliefs.  I have favorite examples... conservatives encountering climate science and fundamentalists encountering evolution.  Whole branches of science are thrown out or disparaged.  The notion that Trump is a speaker of truth seems a more extreme example.

To a great extent you have to say this is human.  Humans have cultures, they buy into their cultures, and it is hard for anyone to honestly evaluate or cast aside deeply held beliefs.  The Establishment Right and Establishment Republican Media have been selling a good size part of the population on small government, low taxes and the southern strategy for decades.  At this point, the Establishment Right has failed to deliver on their policies and promises for decades.  Bush 43 was an utter failure.  Still, the deplorable wing of the Republican Base would rather blame the Establishment Republican politicians for Bush 43's failures and would rather not blame the policies that led to the failures.  Thus, the door has been left open for Trump to make the same old promises only more so to the same old base.

While a lot of bluer folk trust neither the promises nor the man who would perhaps implement them.

But I'm starting to look at the Republican media echo chamber as a grave problem.  They allow and encourage the alternate right echo chamber.  They make it possible for those into the Red world view to totally immerse themselves in the Red world view, to view everything Trump says as True, and everything that conflicts with their beliefs as the result of a corrupt right wing fixed rigged media establishment.  That picket line of sincerity is the essence of the divided and dysfunctional America.

In the days of Morrow and Cronkite there was a sense of duty and responsibility in reporting the news.  This seems to have been lost, replaced by a notion that ratings can be boosted by telling a certain targeted audience what they want to hear.  Faux News and the Alt Right media outlets are clearly visible as biased sources, assuming one has a Blue world view, assuming one isn't living inside of said alternate reality.

There are a lot of fact checking organizations around, and fact checking articles are regular features of many media outlets.  I believe one thing we have to do to break America out of its divided dysfunctional funk is to encourage and demand a lot more reality from our news media.  

It is far too easy for humans to live in distorted alternate realities created to manipulate the sheeple for power, profit and ratings.  I have been railing against partisan thinking by all sorts of partisans on this forum.  I'm equally dubious about red, blue, green, fundamentalist, marxist and restorationist partisans.  Heck, I was even angry at Virgil Saari for wanting to bring back the Stuart dynasty.  All will repeat their doctrines and refuse to listen and refuse to admit that they are not listening.  In this we fans of turning theory are little different from the sheeple of the Republican base. 

Just not sure what can be done with it.  Technology has given us many cable channels and more web pages.  All the editors and writers want a market share.  The easiest way go get such a share is to tell some group what they want to hear.  At some point the spin becomes propaganda, and the propaganda becomes full of lies.  This isn't entirely new.  It can't all be blamed on many cable TV channels and the Internet.  Still, the problem is getting worse.

I used to trust Walter Cronkite.  Everybody used to trust Walter Cronkite.  He's gone.  Everything he stood for is gone.