Social media reinforces the tyranny of hyperbole-by candidates and people who “follow” them-and outrage is a predictable result. Whether these extreme voices actual reflect the true views of our fellow citizens remains to be seen. It’s a disturbing notion, but I am not surprised nor terrified. I’ve never had faith in large numbers of people nor in the individuals who use them. My understand of history, that elusive narrative of what happened and why, prepares me for the worst. The American fallacy is that we thought we had broken the bounds of that process. Fortunately, we have a blueprint which for all its faults acknowledges the inevitability of people acting badly. I embrace our Constitution; we are built on a solid but adaptive foundation. Don’t despair.
In a mean season
poèteguerisseur 