Typically, we don't put much faith in polls, but occasionally an informal one pops up on the Internet via news feeds, Youtube, etc. One came up yesterday and I voted in it. The question was "What should matter the most when exposing a politician's alleged private conduct?" Here are the results: I don't think it's any surprise to anyone which option I chose:
While I'm certainly not unaccustomed to being in the minority in most such exercises, this particular question and the responses were quite troubling. The first problematic issue is the question itself. Note that it specifically refers to "alleged behavior." There's really no "exposing" anything here: to put it in plain English as opposed to postmodern Newspeak, what they're really saying should be "repeating gossip." The reaction of people to "what matters most" should also be to question the Media's integrity in spreading rumors instead of what's being said about the politician.
The second troubling issue is of course the answers chosen by the overwhelming majority. "Holding politicians accountable" was the top response: but the question that should follow is: "Accountable for what?" Although it wasn't specified in the question, I think that we can all guess that sexual innuendo is what the Media thinks ought to be exposed: which boils down further to "allegations of sexually inappropriate behavior." This further boils down to however the neurotics and perverts in the press corps and HR departments define as"inappropriate."
In a sexually repressive culture like ours, sexual jealousy is weaponized easily, in fact it has reached the levels of outright Paranoia. The mere fact that the media thinks that ferreting out whatever salacious details they can find on anybody in order to discredit or destroy them is proof in itself that envy---and not reason---are the motivations behind these kinds of witch-hunts.
The really troubling thing is that---according to this poll at least---91% of the respondents are willing participants in this kind of sleazy behavior (because answers #1 and #2 are really just rationalizations for answer #3). Let's consider this for a moment:
American infrastructure is breaking down. Our agricultural and industrial base has been outsourced. Nearly half the population is living at or near the poverty level. Corporate Oligarchs and unelected bureaucrats and lobbyists dominate our political and economic systems. Drug overdoses and suicides are among the leading causes of death in America. Infertility and illiteracy rates are a national disgrace. Our healthcare system, our legal system, and our educational systems are disasters and probably incorrigibly corrupt. Our Military has been exposed as a Paper Tiger and is no less corrupt than any of our other institutions. The Police/Surveillance State is out of control: workers and students are treated in workplaces and schools no better than serfs and slaves.
Yet, what is more important to most Americans? "What dirt does he have on him?" "What skeletons are in his closet?" "Are the rumors about his private life true?" "Oooo! Oooo! Tell us more! Tell us more!" All that we have to do is witness the furious public reaction when deprived of the lurid details contained in muh Epstein Files for a recent example.
This is an example, too, of why it can't be stressed enough that the root of our national problems is cultural. The political, institutional, and economic failures that we are experiencing currently all---without exception---stem from that. A saying from the New Testament says something like: "A good tree doesn't produce corrupt fruit." We're reaping the fruits of our own social and moral decay, as surveys like this one show.
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