Democracy as Cow Herding

Clyde N. Wilson has an incisive piece over at Chronicles, on the Wilson-Obama debacle. The following paragraph, near the end, says a lot about the status of public “debate” in the fine Res Publica in which we find ourselves:

What all this reveals is that there is no democratic debate and deliberation—i.e., no democracy—in the United States. Our public discourse is dominated by public relations, advertising, pop culture, slogans, media-created celebrities posing as journalists, and vague emotions about what thoughts are acceptable and unacceptable. It has been that way for a long time—since at least the 1960s or perhaps earlier. Rudely disagreeing with a Democratic President, and a President who is a minority member at that, is just not done.

Democracy in America
Democracy in America

Image courtesy of Temple Grandin.