From Camelot to Trumpelot

We have already written a blog about the media's love affair with Camelot and the Kennedy family. The media made most Americans fall in love with Camelot as the "magic kingdom" which provided a "royal family" that seemed almost touchable. Of course, the "magic kingdom" was pure fiction and a product of the media's desires.

Now we have Trumpelot, and the media have decided that the family in the White House (temporarily, of course) deserve our scorn rather than praise. Trump has added a bunch of "rough edges" and a certain "coarseness" to the office and to the person who occupies the office. But Trump has also taken us behind the curtain (remember the Wizard of Oz) to see that it is full of people just like the rest of us. Going behind the curtain gives us a glimpse of true democracy, "warts and all," and it may give the American people the belief that they can participate in the ruling process. Unfortunately, much of what we hear from the media about the Trump administration is as "coarse" as the target they have chosen. The media are not interested in a self-governing public.

The ball is now in the court of the American people. It is time for them to start electing people who enter government service for a short time and then go home, and who understand the meaning of our democracy while they are there.