Some snidely publicist once offered a variation on the notion that, “There’s no such thing as bad publicity!” Well, I could cite a number of instances, Bill Cosby, for one, that would prove him or her wrong, (not that that would prompt a refund or even a lessening of the hefty retainer). In politics, it used to be that even the hint of a public scandal, in particular, a sexual one, could bring a person of power or an entire government to its knees. Today, in contrast, the attention given the philanderer/embezzler/bad-deed-doer too often heightens celebrity, often leading to an elevated station if not reward. Television and now the InterNet created the opportunity for well-positioned, (maybe that publicist again), major and minor personalities posing as purveyors of truth, (news reporters), policy, (politicians), piety, (preachers), titillating secrets, (gossipy assholes), past-life connectors, (just plain assholes) and an endless list of niche interest topics to establish and grow their Face Time which, in and of itself, validates veracity. It has become impossible to parse any stated thesis or fact-check any supposition, as scholarly research is fundamentally left unread and search engines are unfailingly fallible. Wikipedia, the be-all and end-all source of most InterNet informational look-up is only loosely based on substantiated input and can be updated and manipulated on any contributor’s whim, (my Wikipedia profile will soon include the descriptive: Ruler of the Known Universe). So, we’ve arrived at this point where the accrual of an individual’s public Face Time trumps, (see where I’m going here?), substance or relevance, and Trump, who seems to have no strengths or talent beyond his alacrity for publicly spewed bullshit is, by far, the Face Timey Champ.
We need trusted, honest faces to look us in the eye and reassure us when we doubt, to give us both the good and bad news. Our parents, our teachers, religious leaders, community, political and social activists are the first to insinuate their influence on our receptors while we tacitly establish our degree of skepticism. Sadly, the credibility of the loudest talking heads has dipped so immeasurably low that the resultant divisiveness has prodded us to align, sheep-like, squarely behind the black v. white or yanny v. laurel of every issue. The danger of flaunting unreliably based rhetoric, championing a skewed interpretation of the 2ndAmendment above the lives and safety of school children, opting for convenience over the cataclysmic science of climate change, worshipping profits above all else and not standing firmly against the hubris of those with unearned, perilous power can be a self-inflicted lethal wound.
I was so excited by the life-changing advent of FaceTime, allowing me to speak with and see the people I love whenever I could get them to answer a call. But, I’ve had it with those that most frequently haunt the airwaves and my laptop. Could someone please write an app that would allow me to Whack-a-Mole them back down into the dark, dank hole from whence they came?