Yes, I have taken to watching Fareed Zakaria on CNN.
6am here, then 9am. Or I can PVR it.
In early August I heard Fareed take a firm stand, an obvious opinion.
Thank goodness.
He called Donald Trump a Bull**it Artist, then went on to elaborate.
“It’s entertaining,” Zakaria said of Trump’s shtick, “if the guy is trying to sell you a condo or a car. But for the president of the United States, it’s deeply worrying.”
I am concerned that D's ability to "entertain" is more important to the public than his ability to lead people safely, compassionately.
I am reminded of the moment during the first debate I watched, (when there were still 17 Republican candidates), when D first insulted one of his fellow debaters. There was a surprised roar in the crowd, reminiscent of the roar in Jerry Springer's crowd when something shocking happens. A response that must have thrilled D when he heard it. Addicting. How to get more? Any way possible.
(How do I know what an entertained Jerry Springer's crowd sounds like? We were told there would be a local couple's issue aired on a Springer show one winter. 2 weeks straight of dinner time watching until the show finally aired. Pretty mild show compared to some. But the whole experience an eye opener!)
If humans are excited when unexpected conflict happens, and excitement causes alertness and desire for more, then D has fed that excitement rather than satisfying those interested in substance....what he calls boring talk on "policy" and "substantive issues".
D's bull**it (sorry) will attract a crowd who is not generally interested in what is socially important and crucial...fairness, equality, love, compassion. (These are "boring"?) It will attract complainers, gripers. People who want to throw stones rather than sit at a table with...others.
But obviously even a crowd who is politically aware and interested gets a rush when something unexpected happens.
People have to be especially discriminating and thoughtful to choose wisely...between getting important things done or stopping to be entertained by conflict and bull**it. (And allowing it, encouraging it.)
"Zakaria invoked the famous essay On Bullshit [PDF] and how the difference between a liar and a bullshitter is that the bullshitter doesn’t care what’s true."
And lots of people don't care what is true. They want excitement. Careful, friends...
2 quotes here from the Huffington Post on Fareed's Bull**it comments.
Now, I am off to read the whole essay, "On Bullshit" by Harry Frankfurt of Princeton University.
Thanks Fareed! A moment of clarity and courage in weeks of confused coverage.
