I’m fairly confident we had an election back in November. No, I distinctly recall voting. And yet, there’s the runoff election in Georgia tomorrow (“Can’t wait to stop seeing political ads,” said every Georgian everywhere), a cacophonous Senate where members are still plotting to overturn election results, and a President who will not go gently, raging against not only the light, but just about everything.
And I thought it was exhausting in the months leading up to November.
What the vast majority of us know about politics comes from history and civics classes we took in grade school, dramatic programming like The West Wing, Designated Survivor, or House of Cards, and watching our politicians interact on the media stage. In 1979, Al Gore posited that “Television will change this institution, Mr. Speaker, just as it has changed the executive branch. But the good will far outweigh the bad.”
An while there may be some question as to how bad it’s gotten, there is an argument to be made for it based on the shear volume of political coverage. But maybe that in itself is an issue. With so much coverage, so many talking heads issuing their opinions on the topics, maybe we’re faced with a viewership fatigue – much like the poor residents in Georgia must be feeling over the onslaught of political ads.
Michael's Musings 