Trends politicians count on - 1.29.2007.1

Taking a moment to pause, I must say that I am not very hopeful. The reason why may not catch attention at first glance, but my reflection on it says there is much more to be concerned about.

Of course I’m speaking about the 2008 Presidential race. But that is just the surface. There are trends and issues that are more broad and far reaching than just this one event. Of course we all notice that the race for President is starting far sooner than ever before. It’s claimed that the cost to run is so huge that this kind of lead time is needed so that funds can be raised. I have no doubt that this is true. Of course there is another factor in this. America is becoming a MTV educated nation.

I’m not blaming MTV, just using it as an example. We see now that the youth from the last decade or so, up to today, are impatient compounded with short attention spans. This has become so bad that new ‘diseases’ have cropped up [I don’t feel that ADD is real – lest there would have been cases found centuries ago] to try to explain it. I feel that the crush of media has taught kids to not be more patient or thoughtful in part. Cell phones allow instant contact with anyone, text allow the ability to instantly contact multiple people. The internet and IM’s (instant messages) provide instant constant access to like-minded people, information that is both relevant and useless, video of inane acts with the hope of 5 minutes of fame, and the removal of a need to know how to spell (which influences thought in my opinion). Add to this 500 channels of television, each scraping lower for the lowest, cheapest, common denominator to gain a fraction of ratings that are lower than a 30th ranked show in the 70’s. Then throw in the hyper-violent trends in music, music videos (all genres), and sports (fights among teams or against fans) and the future generation looks troubled.

Now take this observation, and put in a political race. Minorities that already are becoming less educated than the generation before them, and feeling besieged by a justice system that is weighted against them, and a law enforcement system that routinely targets them and initiates unjustified unpunished violence upon them. Many minorities feel that politics are of no use as they are not gaining any of the benefits candidates promise to gain their vote. Others just follow the status quo stated by the various media outlets, as if it were a trend or mandatory without any thought to why they have been pre-selected to choice A or B.

Also given the apparent inability to follow a thought long-term, an extended Presidential race will not hold the attention it deserves with those of the youth (any race) that can or will be able to vote. So the race boils down to familiarity and not politics nor issues.

Political parties have caught on to this trend, as has the media. There has been a slow trend growing in the last decade or so, towards less actual content. With the growth of channels Pesidential comments, like the State of the Union, must compete with movies, VOD (video on demand), and regular televised programming. Once upon a time not long ago EVERY channel carried the President when he spoke to the nation.


To be continued...