"News" Is No Longer Good Enough

In these times of fake news and alternative facts, it's not often that we get exactly what we expected! Case in point: our Dear Leader. Despite speculations of what sort of president Trump would be (having never exhibited any convictions about anything other than his own image), he turns out to be exactly what he presented in the campaign: a caricature of narcissism. Now the US has somehow elected him (through a process we now regret was not more democratic!) and he is the face of the US across the world, embarrassing us all day after day. And we deserve it!

I look back with great nostalgia on the Obama administration. No matter how you feel about his policies, he tackled serious business every day. When you picked up the newspaper (you know, that thing you line the birdcage with) you could read about actual national issues, as has been the case almost always throughout our history, instead of lurid White House gossip that has even conservatives calling for impeachment. Now we've elected (ok, the Electoral College elected) a leader that quite appropriately stars among a true basket of deplorables that we also elected to congress. (Forcing through a healthcare bill that has only 17% approval? REALLY?) What we have here is not a government that can see to the needs of the nation but a reality show that keeps us all riveted to new and surprising plot twists every day!

Meanwhile, there's a reason why political satire has replaced the news: it is a more appropriate response to current events. In fact, the cool, detached neutrality that news assumes simply is not appropriate for dealing with what is happening to us. What satire accomplishes that is so wonderful is that it acknowledges part of the larger truth that is subtext. In a democracy, any anti-democratic news item is actually two items. But it can't be reported that way. Satire reports both truths at once. Of course in comedy you can make stuff up, but in satire that only works if the audience KNOWS you're making it up. It's not that satirists are biased; they are human beings, who tend to outrage at outrageous events! On the other hand "neutral" news comes across as inhuman by not being so, thereby coming across as strangely mechanical. If you are not outraged at what is happening to our democracy, you're either an authoritarian or don't understand the situation!

My solution: please, let's not drain the swamp. Instead let's give them an HBO special, starring Trump! "Tremendous!" Then elect––without the help of the corporations this time, (which only amplify our basest desires as a means of stealing both our money and our government) a new serious government that can represent the people and actually tackle real problems! Satirists should go with the reality show to remind us that yes, this is ridiculous behavior that we would never tolerate in public life. And journalists can return to reporting the real news, where their skills are still as valuable as ever. Wouldn't that be a great America!