Larry D. Lauer

When truth dies… trust does too. And when this happens… there is no longer a normally functioning society.

When digital technology and social media enlarged the way television changed social and human behavior, the scene was set for a reality TV performer to be able to dominate public and news media attention.

People in rural areas and small towns were going through job losses and personal crises that were being ignored in Washington… while political parties were obsessed with fighting each other. This new media revolution made it easy for a TV performer to make promises to this lost audience that he would not keep… except for one: He will like them, if they will like and remain loyal to him. So he held rallies designed to entertain, which very soon included outrageous exaggerations, making up lies, assaulting people who disagreed, and engaging in opponent name-calling. Soon much of this also evolved into crazy conspiracy theories which appealed to those seeking a cult-like experience.

This is the kind of situation that spills into populism… which promises to make “all your problems go away.” And populism produces autocrats who purge experts from government and replace them with family members and unqualified but loyal friends. Guardrails to block this were never put in place in the United States. Until Trump, public service was what attracted people to government. Now we are dealing with the consequences.

Only a public service motivated leader, who always tells the truth and finds honest solutions to people’s problems, can regain the public’s trust and end the divisions that are tearing our country apart.