I have long argued that Twitter (as it was formerly known) was the worst thing to happen to American self-governance. It offers just enough room for snarky, disrespectful, or explosive comments, and not nearly enough room to engage seriously with problems. As a result, it transformed the national discourse into a series of insults and contemptuous speech, and gave the elites a platform to air their disdain for each other and everything else.
Maybe I should rethink my position. Getting all this contempt and disdain out in the open is probably the worst thing for keeping the country together; but it might be healthy, insofar as it destroys the very institutions that the elite were using to control us all. Keith Olbermann used to be considered a serious man, an heir to Walter Crokite and the other powerful-and-serious news anchors of the previous century. Now everyone can see him and his business for the jokes that they are.
The Supreme Court, like it or hate it, is the last branch of the Federal government that is unambiguously legitimate. Only the one justice appointed by Biden, whose election was illegal and therefore unconstitutional, is tainted by the recent tomfoolery with elections. The other eight were appointed and confirmed by governments whose legitimacy to do so was not in question. The whole Federal bureaucracy derives its power by delegation from the President, sometimes supported by Congressional legislation that supports its creation and existence. The "fortification" of our elections thus calls the legitimacy of the whole into question, except for the Supreme Court. If you could dissolve the last branch with clear authority, what would be left to convince anyone to obey the dictates of the state?
Force, obviously: naked force. Olbermann nevertheless believes that it is his opponents who are "fascists."
Cronkite was serious, alright; serious about his Lefty- and Swamp-informed viewpoint. Not different in kind from Huntley/Brinkley, Koppel, or Peter the Canadian.
ReplyDeleteYes, but now it's clear and obvious -- as ratings for the networks show
ReplyDeleteKieth Olberman was never serious. He started out as a sports reporter and if he had just stayed in his lane, no one would know him for the fool that he is.
ReplyDeleteHe started out as a sports reporter and if he had just stayed in his lane, no one would know him for the fool that he is.
ReplyDeleteMaybe, maybe not. There is, after all, Charles Barkley....
Eric Hines