America - Are You Awake Yet?

Americans seem to be sleep walking. Listen to the crowds at the current political rallies. Forget which candidate is speaking and what they are saying and just listen to the crowds. Every time the candidate pauses or makes an emphatic gesture, the crowds go wild. The problem? Nothing was said. Hillary or Trump have but to bellow, "We will win," and they go nuts. "We will create jobs," gets standing ovations.. Okay, folks want jobs. I get that. But, just how do they propose getting those jobs going is never mentioned. A decent explanation would get my applause, but a banal promise? No.

I have come to realize that real explanations and honest, workable proposals do not mean a damn thing. People, especially in crowd situations, just want an excuse to yell and cheer. A candidate could promise them all a box of Cracker Jacks and, if they bellowed and sounded wildly enthusiastic, the crowd would jump to its feet and cheer wildly. No one listens, they just hear and see clues and respond accordingly, like Pavlov's dogs.

This has always happened at campaign rallies and this crowd mentality is something that scared our Founding Fathers. This is why we are not, despite everything you may have been  taught, a democracy. We are a representative republic. Those old guys had sense enough to see what might happen if all power went to the crowds. Crowds, in the hands of manipulative masters, can become mobs caught up in a moment's frenzy and the results are never good.

Don't believe me? Look at the reports from North Korea and witness the slavish devotion of those sheep to their 'dear leader,' the despicable little lunatic who is starving them so he can build nukes. Better still, take a look at Leni Riefenstahl's infamous and brilliant film, Triumph of the Will, her record of Hitler's Nuremberg Rallies where the German people, thought to be among the most culturally sophisticated on Earth, were turned into a rabid mob. Remember, this all happened when the German people were in a long lasting economic down time.

We are not quite that bad off here, but we are not that far off either. Neither of our candidates have yet shown Hitler's manipulative skills, but, if you look at and listen to the crowds, the desire to be led, to be told that they are great and that all will be well if they just do as told, is there and that is dangerous. Americans, wake up and realize that the only solutions to our problems are not easy ones and demand that those campaigning stop bellowing slogans and tell you just exactly what the hell they propose. If you do not want to do that, then you may as well go back to grazing and learn to say, 'baah.'