Desert of Humanity

“Americans no longer talk to each other, they entertain each other. They do not exchange ideas, they exchange images. They do not argue with propositions; they argue with good looks, celebrities and commercials.” - Neil Postman, "Amusing Ourselves to Death" (1985)

I understand that this pre-class blog post is not relevant to the readings we were assigned, however, last  nights presidential election results has spurred me into connecting what we have been studying with our current political "situation". A celebrity known for hosting his own reality TV show, running a billion dollar real estate company, a man of a rather low moral character, has just been elected the 45th President of the United States. As if reality TV wasn't a desert of the real itself....we have now deserted America and ALL of its citizens as a whole. Benjamin stated, "The greater the decrease in social significance of an art form, the sharper the distinction between criticism and the enjoyment by the public. The conventional is uncritically enjoyed, and the truly new is criticized with aversion”(45). Now we see this issue of authenticity embroiled in the current issues of the political economy. Originality and creativity has become entirely about politics and commodity. The worlds markets are crashing. There are so many signs that are pointing in the wrong direction yet so many Americans chose to ignore reality and President Donald Trump is the end result. 

“….so-called realistic representations can no longer evoke reality except as nostalgia or mockery”(40). 

I currently find myself nostalgic for American politics before Trump. I am nostalgic for Bush vs. Gore....how can this be? Answer: I am nostalgic for some sort or realer "reality" where Donald Trump is not the future leader of my country. Today I genuinely had a difficult time living in the present moment. How do I deal with these anxious, depressed feelings? I read more...I distract more. Yet I found myself consuming more and more of the media that was hurting me in the first place. I didn't want to talk...I didn't want to argue. I didn't want what is currently happening to be real. Ignorance is bliss right? But the facts are clear and simple. Millions of Americans chose to ignore the face that Donald Trump is a racist and a misogynist and by voting for him children will suffer, women will suffer, the climate will suffer, the LGBT community will suffer, and the world will become an overwhelmingly more violent place. If you were one of the millions of Americans who ignored these facts...than you have deserted humanity as a whole.