Just watched a video that presented the two-party political system in the United States in the same light as an NFL game. Two teams bent on dominating, not even just winning, but creating a dynasty...with the real motivation and power being the money involved in the product being sold - the conflict. Most spectators are at best only tangentially aware of the background machinations involved in sports.
The video presented the situation as analogous to the Democratic and Republican parties. The spectators (voters) remain unaware of the background motives, while the "teams" play out a bitter war for dominance, and the owners of the teams do nothing but profit on the often complacent viewership while essentially having coffee together in the "real" world.
In the NFL, the illusion is created at some expense. But it's entertainment.
In politics, there's collateral. Real human beings suffering and dying while our attention is diverted to...what, exactly? Garbage attacks about the citizenship of a presidential candidate?
I find the analogy presented both immensely depressing and mind-numbingly accurate. If nothing else, it sums up the word that came to mind about the State of the Union address. Misdirection.
Brings me back to an earlier thought about the nature of services. If you aren't paying for them, you are probably the product being sold. Apply that line to politicians and tell me it doesn't smack of accuracy, if buried beneath a little bit of cognitive dissonance.
- C
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