Frank's Musings

It is the economic success of the U.S. that makes possible the luxury that MAGA Republicans have to prefer a radically libertarian form of government. A key feature of life in that environment is the public’s preference for being entertained instead of taking responsibility for assuring good, i.e., liberal democratic management of its affairs. (The ancient Roman emperors used to rely on bread and circuses to distract the attention of their public.)

Some politicians have succeeded mainly because of their ability to entertain the voting public. This was a key to Donald Trump’s election victory. The voters, alas, discovered that he could not govern that way. Nevertheless, he might fool them again.

Therefore, it will be important for Trump’s next general election opponent to employ an entertaining style in their campaign. Even the cable news channels have adopted that approach to presenting their content. Therefore, it shouldn’t be hard similarly to make user-friendliness the chief criterion for selecting campaign issues and for shaping the style of their presentation to appropriately targeted audiences.

The sophistication of the IU.S. body politic has been dulled by constant immersion in mindless drivel by commercial media. A winning election campaign, therefore, must speak in a language that the public understands. Instead of marveling at the illogic of anti-democratic rhetoric, champions of liberal democracy must confess that their lifestyles are exceptional and that what they characterize as critical thinking is not commonly believed to be consistent with everyday experience.

It is not unusual for a sophisticated liberal democracy to fall prey to a populist illiberal autocracy such as not only post WWI Germany and Italy, but also Viktor Orban’s Hungary. Admittedly, none of these countries had as long a history of evolving liberal democratic governance as America.

Nevertheless, democratic rule, no matter how long, is not self-sustaining. It must be constantly revitalized because it does not create universal well-being automatically or conspicuously. A majority of Individuals must continually be reminded of the dire consequences of losing authority over their public affairs as well as of their power to preserve or restore their control.