Today, members of the Electoral College across the United States will convene state-by-state to cast the official votes that will formally determine who becomes the next President of this nation.
Regardless of where you might fall on the political spectrum, I think we can all pretty much agree that the 2020 US Presidential election has been a circus of sorts; a game of lies, deception, manipulation, coercion, misinformation, name calling, threats and accusations.
Stolen election?
Voter fraud?
Missing ballots?
Dead voters?
Voting interference?
Payoffs and bribes?
Fake News?
Biased Media?
Who knows, for sure? "We, The People" will most likely never know, although I feel pretty certain that we'll be discussing and disseminating this election for many years to come. And then a new election will come along, and we'll repeat the process.
Most likely, any actual facts will be relegated to a back row seat behind finger-pointing and a shitstorm of "I TOLD you so's!" Neighbor will turn against neighbor, and sister against brother in a strange latter-day version of "The Hatfields and the McCoys," in a twisted display that — for many people — opinion carries more weight than factual reality.
Meanwhile, the great "Indifferent Middle" will sigh deeply, reiterate that their lives "never seem any different, REGARDLESS of who's in the White House," and go back to worrying about PTA Meetings in the Age of Covid, and how they are going to actually pay their next electric bill.
If there's anything in particular that might be discussed over 2021 summer barbecues, it might well be that the 2020 election was "yet more evidence" that politicians and government cannot be trusted, and they are all crooks and cheats and liars, anyway. And so, the Great American Tradition of "Not Trusting The Government" is kept alive and well!
I don't hold myself exempt from that group, by the way... having long opined that anyone who's actually eminently qualified to be a head of state is most likely going to have zero interest in aforesaid job, and would avoid it like the plague. It takes the Donald Trumps, the Bill Clintons and the Ronald Reagans and the JFKs to want that position.
I'm not arguing that they didn't show some characteristics of worthy statesmanship... I'm just pondering what their ostensible "greatness" is compared to, in a more absolute sense.
But has it ever been any different?
There was, in fact, a time before our world became all about "The Cult of Personality" where the single most valuable asset a person could have was to have "Integrity and be of Solid Moral Fiber."
If you simply did right and were a person of their word you likely would rise to the top. The ideal of "The Quiet Man who gets things done" was held in high regard.
That's not to suggest that there haven't always been shady dealings in politics, with back room handshakes and sketchy agreements. What we're looking at is the overall shift from that being the stuff of whispered rumors to becoming something you simply cannot succeed without.
The greater hypocrisy then becomes that we sit around and complain about "crooked politicians" when — in fact — you stand no chance in that game unless you are crooked!
And in the era of social media and instant newsfeeds, "Crooked and Colorful" simply plays better than "Stoic and Straight."
Generalizations are always a slippery slope, and it's hard to say when (if) there was an actual tipping point from a world predominantly governed by a "Culture of Character" to a "Culture of Personality." Little known cultural historian Warren Susman suggests it happened around the turn of the 19th century.
Regardless, it's doubtful we can stuff that particular genie back in the bottle. We (aka the culture of our times) have more or less "created" the caliber of our potential candidates, along with the conduct we expect from them. And our interest (and subsequently, support) simply isn't held by treaties and handshakes, it's held by scandals and cafeteria foodfights on twitter.
I'm not sure what sort of picture that paints for the future... but I am pretty sure that if we genuinely do want things to be different, we'd probably do well to look inwards rather than outwards as a starting point for that change!
Thanks for reading, and have a great week!
How about YOU? What's YOUR opinion about cultural metatrends and how culture actually shapes politics of the day? Are WE ultimately the ones responsible for creating the political circus we complain about? Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!
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Created at 20201214 10:43 PST
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