The Roar
Talk Carries the Times
There’s smooth talkers, cheap talkers, fear mongering talk and just plain liars. That just about sums up our Presidential timber. Representatives of any or all of the above usually find their way to the top echelons of Presidential aspirants every four years. For the most part, this current batch falls right in line.
Aside from the glibness of these hopeful prevaricators, our susceptibility to their polished fables is invigorated through the daily offerings from our journalists and political pundits. More and more, it’s even become apparent that most of our popular radio talking heads are talking like the carnival barkers of old. Like the infamous bank robber Willie Sutton once replied, “it’s where the money is.”
Just when will the American voter become strong enough, in mind and spirit, to be able to demand truth from our political representatives? Being told what we want to hear has led us to this national abyss.
The 1964 fear promoted from a little girl picking a daisy in the field as a mushroom cloud rises in the background was all it took for LBJ’s re-election. His promise not to send American boys off to fight in Asia was a classic “tell them what they want to hear” hoodwinking. Later, we were treated to a sitting President avowing that “I didn’t have sex with that woman.” Or how about the other classic of, “read my lips” from President Bush. About the only instance of truth came from candidate Obama when he promised to “fundamentally change America.”
This last promise should speak volumes about what the voter wants to hear. Three years later, I have yet to hear of an Obama supporter remembering that one word, “fundamentally.” The idea was “change” and that single word filled the public’s ears.
I, for one, look past the candidates which are now being shoved down our throats. Smooth talking just will not cut it anymore. When one can step back and observe how all facets of our media are funneling this contest into a predetermined two horse race, one must start to consider other options. And they are there for your choosing. And from a personal point of view, one who is qualified and experienced also hails from Pennsylvania. Why is it that not a Santorum word makes the Pennsylvania daily print? He may not be as polished as the sound bite master or the former liberal Governor but he sure makes a lot more sense. Just a thought.
Jim Bowman, Author of
This Roar of Ours