“This is not who we are!”
My intention is to get more blog posts written soon, so we’ll see if my intentions turn into actual writing, lol. For a long time I’ve been pondering how the internet and especially social media usage has changed my life. One of the things I noticed over the years is a decrease in my attention span when reading in general, but particularly staying focused on reading books. The constant click, click, click mentality of modern internet usage made me realize that I wasn’t spending enough time, sitting back, unplugged from the internet, and enjoying hours of reading. So, once again, I’m recommitting myself to spending more time reading actual books, but also filling in the wasted online time listening to audiobooks.
For June, I finished 4 actual books and 3 audiobooks. I’m working my way through two audiobooks and two actual books presently, hoping to stay focused on reading more books and spending less time online. One of the books I’m reading is Ben Sasse’s, Them: Why We Hate Each Other And How To Heal, which I bought a while ago, read a few pages, then sat it aside. I’m halfway through it now and intend to write more about it after I finish the book and do some more research.
Sasse offers important information on the news media evolving into a massive infotainment business. Trump’s reality TV show presidency seems like a natural evolution in this news as entertainment environment, but the real problem isn’t only “Trump is evil” and it’s not only this polarizing news media environment. The main problem really is we, the American people. Without a huge market for this combative news as infotainment and the American embrace of trashy reality TV, this media environment would not thrive and assuredly, Trump’s brand of petty name-calling and juvenile insults would never have acquired a large cheering section, that still fills up large stadiums with flag-waving Americans, who show up to see these Trump Rally Shows.
The corrupt way in which the media gave Trump billions of dollars in free media during the 2016 GOP primary to hype his “GOP Insurgency” still serves as the most glaring example of this toxic media environment, but there are plenty of other examples. Trump’s opponent in 2016. Hillary Rodham Clinton received liberal media deification in the early 90s, with the media overhyping her as the “smartest woman in the world”, America was “getting two presidents for the price of one” and on it went with the liberal media slobbering all over her, crowning her America’s #1 feminist icon.
Conservative media has done the same thing, like turning Sarah Palin into a conservative icon, but the liberal media due to its dominance seems to churn out more media-manufactured political sensations. We now are regaled with the “rock star” Beto O’Rourke, America’s small town mayor, Pete Buttegieg, the always in our faces, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and last week’s Democrat debates, crowned Kamala Harris as the latest media darling for her championing school busing… of all topics to grasp to try and galvanize Americans to vote for her in 2020…
Probably the most realistic liberal take on Harris came from, of all people, liberal icon, Willie Brown:
“The first Democratic debates proved one thing: We still don’t have a candidate who can beat Donald Trump.
California Sen. Kamala Harris got all the attention for playing prosecutor in chief, but her case against former Vice President Joe Biden boiled down in some ways to a ringing call for forced school busing. It won’t be too hard for Trump to knock that one out of the park in 2020.”
As the 2020 Democrats veer left, President Trump, is veering back to his 2016 fear mongering about America being a victim of “unfairness” at every turn, even claiming most of our closest allies are taking advantage of us. He’s ranting about illegal immigrants. Mostly, though he’s wrapping himself in the American flag at every turn, playing to his blue collar white audience, proclaiming that only he is there to save them from the crazy Left.
The 2020 Democrats running to unseat him, are trying to find “issues” to run on, doubling down on the most far-left ones out there. Most of all, what they lack remains a stage presence that can push Trump from owning this reality TV show media environment. Americans, especially those who follow the infotainment regularly and are more galvanized to vote, really want the drama and constant controversy that Trump generates. Even while many of Trump’s harshest critics claim to despise Trump’s reality TV show presidency and constant antics, they still tune in to watch and they spend hours upon hours tweeting and railing about Trump’s latest outrage. He still owns the American political stage and I agree with Willie Brown’s assessment.
That’s it for today. Have a nice day everyone. As for me, I’ll be sitting here sipping iced tea … inside this afternoon. It’s 97 degrees, but feels like 105. Even my dogs don’t want to step outside this afternoon.
libertybelle diaries 