Donald Trump has proven himself on the political platform to be of historical importance. For a man whose name is shamelessly emblazoned in gold across his Chicago tower, I assume he would be proud to know that he will be remembered in American history. However, to his chagrin, his importance is not as the a presidential candidate. His importance comes as a screaming example to the American people that it's political spine is governed, not by the voice of the people but by the voice of the economy. Trump's existence on the campaign trail is not one of diplomatic success -- far from it. In that vein, he finds himself alongside such hallowed company of Steve-O, Snooki, and the mother of Honey Boo Boo, Anna Cardwell. Did they earn more money than I almost certainly ever will? Yes. Do I want to give them a microphone for their political views? No, no I don't. So why should Trump find himself in any different light? Albeit these people found economic success in wildly different fields. "economic success" in itself is a very broad term, so maybe that isn't a fair comparison. Apples and oranges. How about Zuckerberg? Ralph Lauren? Marissa Mayer of Yahoo!.com?
When affluence yields political currency, it is called upon by the people to be cautious about who they give their agency to. Those with the bulging wallets can control the eye of the media and the media, of course, subtly shapes our views of the world. In a democratic society, it is imperative that the masses are aware of this effect, and I'm not so sure we are. And who can blame anyone? This is the most media-fed point in history, where opinions bolstered by money, are the ones flashed in the faces of Americans, and the ones that genuinely reflect the voice of the masses are swept under the rug. So is the nature of democracy.
Why Donald Trump is such an interesting case is because he is nothing if not an American success. His idyllic life style is an iconic realization of the American dream. Maybe it's this parallel that makes him even a halfway legitimate political candidate.
Regardless of Trump's legitimacy as a presidential hopeful, he is important to the American people. When a man with such vitriolic views on foreigners can sustain legitimate candidacy in the eyes of the American public, its shows us either that a lot of our people are still rutted in xenophobic (and inherently hypocritical) views, or that the money-fed media is winning over the mind of lukewarm voters. In either case, the only thing that will heal a hurting democracy is education.
So how do we receive education on these important policies without feeling the push and pull of the capitalist fueled media? There is no clear cut answer. Media bias is so deeply fused in the content-traffic we see in social media, print articles, and television ads that it is hard to parse out any reality at all. The responsibility turns to us. This is what democracy demands.
So thank you, Donald Trump. You have inadvertently alerted America of its moral shortcomings. Thank you for "The Apprentice."
Now please get out of our politics, the adults are arguing about important things.
