Webster defines hype this way: “to stimulate, to enliven” These are the daunting tasks advertisers and politicians are faced with – to stimulate where there is no-interest – to enliven where there is no- life. This leads inevitably to exaggeration and overstatement. This has become so common we don’t notice it anymore and consider the static and overstatement of advertising normal.
Now how does this affect our politics? Exactly like any other product and this is why we are where we are today. Selling the product has become more important than the product being sold. The message is more important than what the message is about. In the political arena this translates to “knowing how to get elected" being more important than knowing how to govern.”
This creates a world for the “Barnum and Bailey” huckster. Knowing how to grab the limelight and be the constant center of attention becomes a valuable commodity in a culture where the average person’s attention span is no more that fifteen minutes.
This allows the demagogues to “mine the gold.” They are instinctively aware of where all the “hot buttons are.” Unfortunately, this is all they know. Now this is fine when selling soap, but what happens when you are selling something more important?
Well, many of us are about to find out. Will we be lucky enough to have all “persons rise to the occasion” or not? Only time will tell.
Brother Giovanni