Convention Season – The Mirror Never Lies
I have already admitted to being a recovering addict of West Wing. One of the side effects of this unfortunate illness is a consistent belief that our political leaders are intelligent and always strive to tell the truth as they see it. Congressman Todd Akin managed to dispel the first and promote the second with disturbing ease last week.
I’m watching snippets of the Republican Convention and I am struck by the desire to sell an illusion that is flawed at its base. I have lived in the US for seven years now and in that short time have come to love the country and absorb a deep respect for the values and decency that most of us share. I am excited by the freedom, the democracy, the ability to make change. But I am under no illusion that America is perfect, that it is No. 1 in the world (basketball aside), or that it is God’s own country.
Do the Republicans really believe that they are serving in the best interest of the nation by perpetuating the illusion that we are No. 1? And by the way, I have heard the same mantras from the other side. On NPR this morning, a panel analysed how Governor Romney distorted truths in his speech last night.
It’s so depressing. The best thing any leader can do is grab our nation by the shoulders and force us to take a good hard look in the mirror. Unfortunately, winning votes by inflating delusional egos is more of a priority.
The hype – over the top.
Jeff Daniels and Aaron Sorkin did exactly this in this scene from The Newsroom. Apparently, honesty does not rock the ratings. (Warning: There is explicit language in the clip).
America can be great – if indeed that is our goal. But first, we must take a good hard look in the mirror and understand who is looking back at us and how we got to be where we are. The fatal flaw of our democracy is that it is built on blaming others, not admitting what needs to be fixed.
One convention down, one to go. I will wait for a moment of honesty. To quote one of the special guests at the convention: Go on – make my day.
“He’s not there, Clint. You know that, right?”
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Alon Shalev is the author of The Accidental Activist and A Gardener’s Tale. He is the Executive Director of the San Francisco Hillel Foundation, a non-profit that provides spiritual and social justice opportunities to Jewish students in the Bay Area. More on Alon Shalev at http://www.alonshalev.com/ and on Twitter (@alonshalevsf).
Left Coast Voices 
I started out just liking The Newsroom, the latest Aaron Sorkin project. But by the season finale, I was a diehard fan. I, too, was a huge fan of West Wing and wanted Jeb Bartlett to be our president. Now I want news journalists to be more like the anchor played by Jeff Bridges.
I could only stomach snippets of the Republican convention, but for me, the take-home message was: no need to stick to facts—if it sounds good, say it, whether it’s true or not. Stephen Colbert’s concept of truthiness is closer to Republican rhetoric than it is to comedy. Which is scary…