Political Talking Heads and Non-Partisan Ramblings
As I sit down and start writing this, I am quietly pondering to myself whether it is even possible to write commentary about politics without that commentary turning into a "political post."
I generally avoid politics because it tends to be an arena that is extremely divisive and polarizing and discussions quickly disintegrate into mudslinging, but that does not mean that I'm not fascinated by the psychology and underlying human nature that drives the political machine.
Unless you are hiding under a rock — in which case, good for you! — you are no doubt aware of the ongoing circus and controversy surrounding the president of the USA's recent speech in which he promised every adult in the US $5,000 if the Republicans win a majority in both the House of Representatives and the US Senate in the midterm elections in November.
It led me to pursue this little thought experiment of exploring what citizens of the USA see in, and expect from, their public figures. And the more I look at it I can't help but conclude that politics in the USA has become more about entertainment than it is about actually electing individuals to run the country in a manner that is beneficial to its population.
Growing up in Denmark and living in several different countries in Europe, I am by no means compelled to make claims about corruption or a lack of corruption in governments anywhere but the one thing I do remember taking with me as I moved to the USA in the early 1980a was this idea that people in the civil service — which ultimately is what government is — tended to fairly uniformly take the idea of service relatively seriously.
Now, just to frame what I'm saying here, my experience is based around western industrialized nations, Denmark, the UK, France, Germany, and Spain which were all places I lived.
In the US, it has often seemed like (at least from the perspective of the observing population) politics and people in government are regarded more along the same lines as one might regard so-called "professional wrestling." It's a big spectacle, and there are heroes and villains, and pretty much everybody knows that the spectacle is rigged so because of that it's not so much about "winners" or "losers" in the sporting sense of the word... just about who you support and who you cheer on, regardless.
Not suggesting that's how everybody thinks, but can be applicable to the large population of "marginally interested" people who know there's an election but aren't much into researching policy and facts.
At least this seems to hold somewhat true at the national level, although perhaps not so much at the state and local level.
The problem I have with this is that being set in an arena of entertainment, grand promises carry less weight and are less likely to actually be kept.
Whether we think offering $5,000 if his party wins constitutes a bribe or not is perhaps beside the point, more relevant is the point about keeping the promise.
If it's all just a "big show" the entire process takes on an air of fiction, rather than one of reality.
I feel that healthy skepticism is in order — independently of political persuasion — because this is already a government that has promised a $5,000 DOGE stimulus check for waste saved in government, and a $2,000 rebate check for all the tariff money allegedly collected, and $1,000 savings account to people who were adversely affected by the end of the Affordable Care Act, and now promising this.
Keeping in mind that the Republicans already fully control both the house and the Senate when these proposals promises were made, and they already had the votes to approve each of these but didn't, what makes anybody think that this latest promise would be any different?
And don't get me wrong here, I could really use $5,000! Who couldn't?
The problem here is that most likely there will be a lack of critical thinking applied at voting time, resulting in a large number of people being swayed by these promises even though they will never come true. And because people have been trained to view politics through the lens of perception of entertainment — rather than managing a country's affairs and finances — everybody is cheering for the promise much in the same way as we cheer for our national football team in hopes that they are going to win the World Cup... even if we know in our heart of hearts that there's not a chance in hell that they'll win.
The situation runs 100% on emotion and close to 0% on common sense and critical thinking.
As I said up top, I'm not really interested in turning this into a political debate in the sense of it being an us versus them, more interesting in pursuing the psychological angle — the fantasy versus reality — which is something that can be employed by people of any political persuasion.
In some senses, the President's $5,000 promise is no different from a liberal candidate promising "free health care" or "universal basic income" for everyone. It is ultimately a psychological bribe — even if not a genuine financial bribe — to sway voters. I just hope people have the common sense to see through the ruse and realize that the money is not real, it is just flag waving.
I think I will end it here, and we shall return to our regularly scheduled programming tomorrow!
Comments, feedback and other engagement is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation! I do my best to answer comments, even if it sometimes takes a few days!
Greetings bloggers and social content creators! This article was created via PeakD, a blogging application that's part of the Hive Social Content Experience. If you're a blogger, writer, poet, artist, vlogger, musician or other creative content wizard, come join us! Hive is a little "different" because it's not run by a "company;" it operates via the consensus of its users and your content can't be banned, censored, taken down or demonetized. And that COUNTS for something, in these uncertain times! So if you're ready for the next generation of social content where YOU retain ownership and control, come by and learn about Hive and make an account!
As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly and uniquely for this platform — not posted anywhere else.
2026.09.10 23:52 PDT
1641/2907
Sigh...