The TV mirror

Published October 22, 2014

by Gary Pearce, Talking About Politics, October 21, 2014.

Here’s the worst thing about all those negative political ads on TV: They mirror our national psyche right now.

You can blame the politicians and their consultants. But they’re giving you what they know works on you: fear and anger.

On both sides.

Democrats are angry about the North Carolina legislature for what it’s done on education, fracking, coal ash and voter suppression.

Republicans are angry about taxes, spending, gay marriage and the fact that Barack Obama is still President.

We’re all angry about something that government at some level has or hasn’t done.

And we’re all scared. We’ve been scared since 9/11. We’ve been scared since the 2008 crash, and we’re scared because the economy hasn’t come back stronger.

Now we’re scared about ISIS. And we’re in a full-scale freakout about Ebola.

The campaigns are just holding up a mirror. And we don’t like what we see.

http://www.talkingaboutpolitics.com