Larry D. Lauer

“I really like his policies, but hate his politics.” I hear this all the time.

After 50 years of studying communication, media and politics, I must conclude, however, that this president has no policies or even ideologies that propel him. It’s all about him, and he even says so openly. He has proven to be an immoral and insidious, “all about me” autocrat, who is creating and living in an alternate reality?   

All this was enabled by a digital media revolution. During the 2016 campaign and election, many (including the news media), were attracted by this former reality show host’s constant flow of outlandish statements, lies, conspiracies, exaggerations, and wildly confusing imagery.

Here is how this has gotten worse…

1. The urgency of a pandemic has been simply ignored… currently with rhetoric that creates an assumption that it’s all in the past. But it isn’t. Cases and deaths continue to grow.
2. Schools are currently pressured to open in the middle of this pandemic, but responsibility for any failures have been transferred to each school system. Many are already experiencing cases.
3. Questionable medical treatments have been urged, even though they were never adequately tested and several produced illness and even death.
4. Fast-track vaccines have been funded with private companies… with pressure to have something before the election. Now these companies are suggesting that widespread availability is more likely sometime in 2021.
5. Attention on the pandemic has been diverted by wild tweets about something else … in this case, a focus on beefing up federal law enforcement, with lies about what groups are using violence.
6. The nation has also been divided by appealing directly and indirectly (called “dog whistles”) to white nationalists… inspiring some angry followers to carry out vigilante type violent responses.
7. Created fears about mail-in voting, and has already said he will refuse to accept losing the election.

Fooled once in 2016, shame on us. Fooled twice is inexcusable. Conservatives, liberals, independents, and all other lovers of democracy must now come together to save it.