Politics In America: Tabloid Democracy

   I read Timothy Egan’s post from the NYTimes.com opinionater entitled “Liars Club” and then I read it again, he absolutely levels some big names out there, and does it effortlessly, kudos Mr. Egan!
    The personalities he picked are shameless in their pursuit of the American eye; they talk and act like they actually believe what they’re saying, which does gain them the weak-willed tabloid crowd, but discerning folks see them as a byword and travesty of a political system run amok.
   Politics American style is pure theatre, a constant parody of itself, and I think in dire need of a redo. But how? The acting indubitably draws in the spectators, and like it or not they are the electorate and even though they’re not able to draw the distinction between an honest politician and the ones mentioned by Mr. Egan, they can decide an election, so I ask again, what could be done to end the tenure of these snake oil politicians?
   Tuff question, but there are answers! Laws could be drafted that would put the onus on every accusation or misleading statement as having to have indisputable readily available facts, no more sound bites or just part of the story told, the entire statement somebody made or nothing, this alone would change the game as we know it. And how about anti-inflammatory laws; no more stirring up the crowd with overly zealous remarks designed to elicit vengeful thoughts from people who are ripe for revenge on politicians whom they’ve pegged as guilty for their job losses or whatever.
   Of course how does one enact these new statutes, and who would oversee them so that would be, and incumbent politicians would heed them?
   The will of the people isn’t something that can easily be determined. The changes I’m talking about aren’t overnight rewrites of a movie script, but I do see the rumblings of a transformation. Who knows, maybe somebody with a formidable political will can convince the public that Americans must once again show the world how they can lead the way, This time with a revolution in democracy.