I think we (the voters) are just dumber than we used to be and cannot think clearly. Consider the number of people who watch professional wrestling and take it seriously. These people vote. Donald Trump is especially good at getting them to vote, and they vote for him. The talking heads on cable news have not helped.
I think we (the voters) are just dumber than we used to be and cannot think clearly. Consider the number of people who watch professional wrestling and take it seriously. These people vote. Donald Trump is especially good at getting them to vote, and they vote for him. The talking heads on cable news have not helped.
There is also the problem that everything most politicians say is field tested before it is uttered (Trump is the exception; perhaps this is why so many of his supporters believe he is honest.) This means that real information is hard to find. Look at how popular the bulwark is. It should not even be necessary, much less popular.
I am quite a lot older than JVL. I remember when pro wrestling was small time with overweight large men in front of a few people around the ring who apparently never understood that the soap in the bad guy's waist band would never be found and that the referee played the same role as the Generals did to the Harlem Globetrotters. It was really good opera and entertainment, but poor reality.
No one with any sense believed professional wrestling wasn't 100% scripted. It was obvious. Now we see literally thousands of people screaming at them from the stands. It has not only affected wrestling, but also politics and art. Our grasp of reality is being driven down by all of this.
I think voters were always pretty dumb (though we were less aware of their dumbness, because there was no social media giving dumb people free megaphones back in 1966 or 1976 or 1986).
"You wanna know how dumb Americans are? Think of how dumb the average America is, and then realize that half of all Americans are dumber than that." -- George Carlin
I think we (the voters) are just dumber than we used to be and cannot think clearly. Consider the number of people who watch professional wrestling and take it seriously. These people vote. Donald Trump is especially good at getting them to vote, and they vote for him. The talking heads on cable news have not helped.
There is also the problem that everything most politicians say is field tested before it is uttered (Trump is the exception; perhaps this is why so many of his supporters believe he is honest.) This means that real information is hard to find. Look at how popular the bulwark is. It should not even be necessary, much less popular.
I'm curious what JVL will think of your analogy, since I think he qualifies as a pro wrestling fan. He taught me what "kayfabe" means.
I am quite a lot older than JVL. I remember when pro wrestling was small time with overweight large men in front of a few people around the ring who apparently never understood that the soap in the bad guy's waist band would never be found and that the referee played the same role as the Generals did to the Harlem Globetrotters. It was really good opera and entertainment, but poor reality.
No one with any sense believed professional wrestling wasn't 100% scripted. It was obvious. Now we see literally thousands of people screaming at them from the stands. It has not only affected wrestling, but also politics and art. Our grasp of reality is being driven down by all of this.
I think voters were always pretty dumb (though we were less aware of their dumbness, because there was no social media giving dumb people free megaphones back in 1966 or 1976 or 1986).
"You wanna know how dumb Americans are? Think of how dumb the average America is, and then realize that half of all Americans are dumber than that." -- George Carlin
Sorry for my delayed reply, but:
"Maybe we should give the dogs a vote as well."
"I'll ask my horse!"
- Game of Thrones nobles mocking Samwell Tarly's idea to bring democracy to the Seven Kingdoms