Reflections on the media and the fall of Trump

The media has been running after Trump like the bright, shiny object that he is. But like a meteor of Sisyphus, burning bright and streaking towards the sun, Trump seems to be flaming out of control at the moment. As he is imploding, my one thought is of the tearful Vladimir Putin lamenting the downfall of his favorite and oh so useful idiot, one Donald J. Trump. The problem may be that no one is shocked, really shocked!, to discover the true nature of Trump.

But the lack of focus on his very real flaws, his character and the shady nature of his business dealings and how he built his empire, are the most telling and perhaps shocking aspects of this whole weird Trump phenomenon. For weeks, one of the few journalists showing some spine in uncovering the details of Trump's flawed character has been Joy Reid, of late the host of the Saturday AM show on MSNBC. She first brought in the Newsweek correspondent digging deeper into his business dealings, and has also featured prominently the lawyers asking questions surrounding Trump's past dealings with women. The lawsuits are reminiscent of the ones Bill Cosby fielded for years. And perhaps most troubling is the unapologetic nature of his defense, as if having money and power are such boons to anyone that the mere mortals who dare question his steamroller behavior are simply spineless wimps and "losers", not indictments by ordinary people who are trying to get ahead in their own lives.

The media has long been known to simply follow lemming-like the shiny objects and bright and glittering stars that betray their fervor for low-hanging fruit. We, as writers, journalists and bloggers alike, all tend to be lazy when it comes to the long hours of research and thankless long nights spent digging up minuscule footnotes and corroborating support for intricate stories that are timely and at times, confusing to the general public. But there is no excuse for this long, drawn out national nightmare that is Trump. We all are guilty of wanting to view this slow motion train wreck of a campaign that has been before us, and yet even as we witness the implosion of the thing, engulfed in flames and screaming vitriol as he falls to Earth, we must embrace the fact that there's a bit of him in all of us. It's the darker sides of our nature, and not the better ones that we need to confront as we reflect upon his downfall. Here's hoping that we can survive the aftermath of Trump.

Comments

For those Dems in Despair...Take Heart!

Here is something that I've noticed. The fact is, most of the Hillary supporters were very upbeat and happy before the Election. And the mood for most Trump voters has always been some kind of perpetual gloom and doom attitude towards everything. They walk around perpetually convinced that Armageddon is near. Well, now that the Apocalypse has occurred (at least in Blue America), we need to take a deep breath, take a few steps, and look at the Big Picture from 10,000 feet. 1. Trump has to deliver: On all those promises, both real and totally unrealistic that he made during the Election. And although I understand that he is not a "normal" candidate, and we have much to worry about, he now has to perform. And as Mario Cuomo said, " You campaign in poetry. But you govern in prose ". Meaning when it comes down to brass tacks, he must go back to the same old Republican Dogma that has made up the GOP for the past forty years. Tax cuts for the rich, trickle-dow...

Are we even asking the right questions?

What is this about really? Are we somehow conflating this withdrawal with the idea of America as a superpower? Is it about American Exceptionalism and the idea that we have lost our innocence? Is this something that we will use to justify what we are doing in the world; where we are going, and what we want to be known for in the world? Just asking what we want to stand would be a good start in terms of questions going forward. This may be a conversation that needs to be had in the coming years. All of the talk, and the hopes and aspirations were discussed and mapped out before being put into the small 21st Century online political group that was created in 2017. The thoughts & ideas came from a hopeful take on the dark reflections seen in the election of Trump in 2016. Are we a country and a people that are even capable of building a better tomorrow? We need to be able to have this serious talk with Allies and others of good will; T...

Hillary and the Man in the Arena

From the standpoint of one who voted for and endorsed Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton, there seems to be a question hanging in the air. How could someone who opposed the Clintonian dynasty support Hillary’s bid for the Presidency? Isn’t it a bit hypocritical? Or at least inconsistent with the view previously taken? This is true for many supporters of Obama. Some on the left cannot support her bid for President.They see many of her acknowledged flaws and conclude she cannot be a viable option. My view comes from watching her over the course of the past eight years, four as the Secretary of State within this Administration. And having watched the two debate in 2008- Obama vs. Hillary- there can be little question that the divide that separates them on most issues is a small one. Theirs is a centrist left view of the world. On Foreign Policy, I daresay that Hillary would never have worked for Obama had she held wildly opposing views from his own world view. But the...

Red State/Blue State

Search This Blog