I was watching The Daily Show and Senator McCain came on the show talking about his campaign for presidency. I saw him talking, with his memorized retorts and concocted belief systems; sound bites of goals and intentions. I can't remember anyone talking about anything real; I don't remember anyone with an actual plan. If I was running for presidency, I'd sure as hell have a plan. I don't care about anything they've said and I don't think anyone else does either, mostly because they don't say anything of consequence.
The banter reminded me of some of those radio shows you hear, with people calling in to argue for their side of the debate of the day. A few years ago, I was offered a job to play one of these people on the radio. They wanted me to argue a side of one of these such debates. I did not share this view or have any background showing that I'd have any interest in it. I was an actress, and I was being paid for a role. This is when it all became clear just how staged these radio dramas where. As it turned out, it spread to other radio shows as well, including some bigger ones I probably shouldn't go on exposing. I'm not worried that a radio show is going to come down and sue me, but people rely on their escapisms to get through life, and this would be like spoiling a movie that you are slowly watching day in and day out. Not my bag.
And the magic was gone. Now I can't listen to anyone calling in on a radio show anymore.
So they're all actors. It's shady and sucks to be lied to, but I didn't care about these issues and knew that people were tuning in for entertainment and not any real information.
What I saw from McCain disturbed me. The banter, the way he held himself, the fact that these guys never actually answer a question. It all seems like they don't really know anything about what they're going on about; like they're actors filling a part. An actor whose been briefed on his role as a plummer can beat around the answers about the drain system and what tools to be used and still have no idea what they're talking about. Give them a few years, and they'd have political bullshit down to a tee; you don't seem to have to know anything at all beyond misinformation and slight of tongue anyway to run for office. Granted, these would be higher quality actors, but with enough training/experience/time, you could pull it off.
It struck me that it could all be the same thing; a dramatization of democracy in action; a show put on for us to make us feel that we're part of something that died years ago.
It felt like an epiphany that was hanging out in the peripheral of my vision; something abstract and alien, and that if I didn't focus on it and try to name it, it would go away, because no one would ever think this and it's likely to just fall away... which of course makes it easier to pull off.
A big show. I guess they have thought of this in a way, but I don't think Jon Stewart would be in on it, so it could just be the politicians. Maybe the generals of war are who hire them, and they keep the politician actors doing their part so they can set up their international game of risk and bank on oil and big industry. It all sounds completely crazy, but it could work.
I don't believe this; it's just a novel idea, but it's an idea that could do something to begin to answer how these guys can talk for years and never say a god dammed thing.
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