Hyperbole For Sale
Americans will have to suffer another election cycle built entirely on the two parties trying to manipulate their negative emotions.
At the start of another tedious election cycle, Democrats and Republicans have concluded that the only path to victory lies in carpet bombing half the country for the political choices they are forcing them to make.
The leading lights of politics have determined to set up America in 2024 like it’s Berlin in 1933. Vote for one candidate and it’s “fascism.” Vote for the other and it’s “communism.”
Democracy and constitutionalism will cease to exist if you vote one way, and if you vote the other way, hordes of migrants will take over your town and the government will confiscate your money and take away your freedoms.
Hyperbole rules the day in contemporary politics.
It’s not enough to have normal policy disputes over proper tax and spending levels, sound immigration policy, constructive social welfare programs, viable regulations, or military spending that advances our national interests and security.
Now the stakes are much higher. Every act of the other side is corrupt and morally rotten. Every decision is authoritarian or evil. America is perpetually teetering on the edge of the abyss because members of the other party exist.
Nearly every political email sent out today sounds like this:
John—I don’t know if America will make it.
Can you believe [Democrats and Biden/Republicans and Trump] said this and supported that?
Have you seen this clip of extreme [Squad/MAGA] person [X] doing extreme thing [Y]—and no other [Democrat/Republican] said anything about it?!!
Can we count on you to support us on this incomprehensible piece of legislation we slapped together at the last minute with few votes from the other side?
Will you prove your loyalty to us—and opposition to them—through monthly donations and favorable social media posts about our presidential candidate?
Or perhaps buy this collector mug or t-shirt with the goofy meme and bad graphics?
The choice is yours, John—America as we know it is at risk.
We need your response NOW.
Hyperbole rules the day not just in political solicitations but across the media landscape: on talk radio, on Fox News and MSNBC, in the editorial pages of The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal, in social media posts on X and selfie meltdowns on TikTok.
The messages across these platforms offer the same guilt-inducing, over-the-top, and sectarian rhetorical traps: “Everything you care about is at stake and may never exist again—so don’t support the wrong party or candidate.”
Americans don’t have to put up with this nonsense.
We can take steps to support robust democratic debate this election year by refusing to go along with political hyperbole of any kind. Turn off cable news and delete social media apps. Unsubscribe from party and activist lists. Cancel publications that try to manipulate your emotions. Don’t send money to politicians and parties that treat you like a dimwit.
Do talk to friends and family about important public matters. Do find neutral and analytical media sources for reliable information about current events, the candidates and parties, and policy proposals. Do support good groups, candidates, and publications that treat people like mature citizens rather than political marks.
There are genuine stakes this election cycle—as in every other American election since the country’s inception.
But the best way to take these stakes seriously as a citizen is to consider the issues honestly and debate the alternatives with others in a passionate yet rational and civil manner—the American way.
Don’t let hyperbole win.