Benjamin Burton

JMC 1013 Intro to Mass Communication

Contemporary Politics in America: My Point of View
Much has been said about mistrust of politicians and media in the
United States. I agree with much of the mistrust both politicians and the
media have enormous amounts of power, and with power comes the
opportunity to abuse it. This is especially relevant in politics, as the immoral
actions of politicians reflect both on the morality of our country and on the
people that these politicians represent. I diverge from the rather one-sided
point of view expressed in the recent reading for this class, however, in that I
reject the cynicism that seems to often go hand-in-hand with mistrust.
While there are, without a doubt, many immoral and deceitful
politicians in power in the United States, I tend to focus my energy more on
supporting those who are doing their jobs transparently and with the best
interests of their constituents at heart. Fear and hate of politicians
contributes to the negative atmosphere surrounding politics today; those
running for office are constantly attacking those running against them with
the very same vitriol and hate that they learned from the public. The
common trend seems to be that the newcomers to politics or positions run
on hopeful, inspiring platforms for a better future, and beat down the
incumbent politicians (and their opposition for the positions) as lazy,
dishonest, and incapable of performing their jobs. These campaigns of hate
do much to contribute to the overall distrust of politicians in the American
public.
The media has contributed to this culture of negativity, because the
stories of hate-speech, scandal, and corruption not only need to be told in
order to maintain accountability, but also sell well to the public. The very
qualities that we, as media consumers, claim to hate in politicians are the
same qualities that we love to read about them having. Its a vicious cycle
that allows for candidates with platforms of hate, disunity, and regression to
take precedence over their opponents. The invariable example of Donald
Trump supports this point the mistrust of politicians has allowed someone
with no political experience and a deeply divisive platform to emerge as the
favored candidate in one of Americas biggest political parties, simply
because people connect to him and feel that he is honest and not afraid
to speak his mind. The media contributed to Donald Trumps rise into
prominence, because stories about the whacky businessman with no couth
or sense of political correctness running for President sold well and so the
media coverage continued and increased.
In this election cycle, trustworthiness of candidates, corruption, and
the presence of money and influence in politics has been a larger focus of
debates and running platforms than ever before; I think this can be
attributed, in a large way, to the mistrust that many Americans currently
hold towards politicians.