A country whose citizens claim to be critical thinkers capable of coming to their own decisions regarding the critical issues facing our nation regardless of what the majority thinks, should be able to separate reality from entertainment. It sure is swell that the same schmucks who spill beer all over people at football games are also attending our televised political debates.
On Oct. 15, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) held their fourth televised debate for the 2020 presidential election primaries. This time, 12 candidates took the stage and some were given more time to speak than others. All claim to have big, intricate plans to save the day. Their plans may be feasible and thoughtful, or they may not, but audiences would not know the difference because we are not listening to the details or plausibility of an idea. We are eagerly waiting for the next mic drop moment so we can put down our Tostitos and holler at a TV monitor for a few seconds.
Americans love their reality TV and mindless entertainment; it is what keeps us amused and adds a speck of excitement to our everyday lives. Ever since the TV was introduced in 1927, America became a land of visual aid. What we saw meant more than what we heard, just look at the Sept. 26, 1960 debate between presidential candidates Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy. Research shows that the majority of radio pundits and polls gave the symbolic “win” to Nixon, while those who watched the debate on TV gave it overwhelmingly to Kennedy, claiming he radiated health and personality.
Obviously not every single American is mindlessly chewing with their mouth open and clapping along whenever Elizabeth Warren lands a “sick burn” on Joe Biden, but let us not kid ourselves, that is what our election cycles have become. It is simply political theater watched like one would watch “The Bachelor.” There is a glaring issue with these televised pseudo-sporting events.
The concept of a live audience is utterly ridiculous and treats the viewers like children. Audiences are supposed to be completely silent, so why are they even there? No one stays silent anyway and now the candidates are playing to the crowd, as opposed to laying out their plans in an organized fashion so that viewers can make up their own mind. Every candidate has their own traveling fan club that applauds everytime they spew a mundane soundbite such as “We need to get our country back on track” or “We will fight!”
Furthermore, when playing to a large group of people, candidates must dumb down their plans to bite-sized zingers and one-liners. Live audiences also take time away from candidates to speak and make it harder for undecided viewers at home to make up their mind without taking into account the gobs of fans who clapped for each particular remark.
Getting rid of the live audience and only having the candidates and moderator on camera would make for a rich discussion full of level headed debate, a quality exchange of ideas and may even lower the amount of migraines Americans get each year. Look at the Joe Rogan podcast, who had 2020 candidates Bernie Sanders and Tulsi Gabbard on for hour or more, with in-depth discussions for each. The millions of views and likes attributed to these videos show that Americans want this, Americans need this. All the mainstream news networks have to do is to treat us like grown ups, cut out the audience and begin to shift the tide. At the end of the day, it does not matter who looks the healthiest or lands the night’s biggest burn, we do not live in a reality show, what matters are the ideas.
Photo from Pixabay
