Tim Burke tells us that we have to stop believing the narratives of politicians and public figures. We have to stop believing the lies about their politics and personal lies. Let's support the politicians with flawed personal lives and push away politicians who fail to live up to their promise. We have to see past the marketing package and evaluate the actual product.
For our own velvet revolution, for at least a possibility of moving
the ball forward past this stagnant, curdled moment in American life, I
think what we’ll all have to do is take the risk of authenticity, to
develop a grown-up taste for the rough edges and honest imperfections
of lives as they are lived. In our politicians, in our public figures,
in ourselves. To stop carrying water for liars or telling simplified
fabulisms because we think that will serve some end that we deem
necessary. To drop our deflector shields. Living and speaking within a
world of acknowledged ambiguity, uncertainty, and imperfection is an
end in and of itself.Otherwise, 21st Century American life is going to amount to just us,
the online comments threads, and those wonderful people out there in
the dark…a long slow fading as we dreamily revisit over and over again
our old glories, waiting endlessly for our close-up.
Apt. 11d 
For some time now, I’ve been advocating semi-coherent rage directed at the entire elite class. I’m going to call that close enough.
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Burke’s comment sounds a little bit like Amy’s “hypocrisy is over-rated.” I’m sympathetic if “accepting authenticity” means people don’t lie to us, and we take them as they are. But if it means that they preach values for others that they prove are impossible, through their own actions, well, then, I’m not a happy camper.
I can accept personaly infidelity from someone who doesn’t preach morality (well, if I’m not married to them), if they work towards policies I appreciate.
But then, I don’t believe in revealed morality.
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There are also some good comments at Burke’s post. (But my heart belongs to Laura McKenna, so I won’t comment there.)
The idealization of political figures described by Burke affects only a tiny fraction of Americans. Most Americans think they’re all crooks and decide in the last few weeks before the election which set of crooks to vote against. Of course most political discourse is conducted by the tiny minority which tends to idealize candidates and demonize opponents, but most political discourse is little noted nor long remembered, and hardly colors the whole of American life.
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“I’m sympathetic if “accepting authenticity” means people don’t lie to us, and we take them as they are. But if it means that they preach values for others that they prove are impossible, through their own actions, well, then, I’m not a happy camper.”
I don’t think that’s quite right. It is possible to live in a single home of less than 10,000 square feet–it’s just that various prominent environmental and progressive spokesmen choose not to. Likewise, it is possible to pay your taxes, etc.
For ordinary purposes, a politician may be like a busdriver who drives the route that takes us to where we’d like to go. We don’t inquire deeply into their marital virtue or how carefully they recycle, although if we see them weaving down the street, we might take a different bus (or report them to the highway patrol, as I recently did with a commercial bus that would not stay in its own lane). Unfortunately, problems arise with the bus driver model when we need politicians to perform duties where we can’t closely supervise them (national security decision-making, etc.) and also because 4-6 years is a very long time to wait after you figure out that you’ve elected a bad busdriver.
Lastly, I dislike making hypocrisy the end-all-be-all of all virtue, both because seeing hypocrisy everywhere is traditionally a sign of immaturity and because hypocrisy has a lot of unappreciated value. If I as a mother am exteriorly calm, logical, and effective while on the inside I’m boiling with rage, wanting to yell and smack, that is good (although I probably also need a break). Likewise, if Bob is a racist inside, but is scrupulous not to make any racist remarks in front of his kids or at work, that is good, too.
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It really is a fine, sobering screed; I hope a lot of people read it. (I do my part here.) The ensuing comments, and particularly Tim’s responses to them, make his post even more interesting to me. Tim has always seemed to me to be a personally thoroughly familiar with, resigned to, even capable of ethically relating to, our media-saturated world of bluster and posing. But here, he seems to sounding almost populist, calling for some “straight-talking” Ross-Perot figure to come and “tell us how it is.” That’s a surprising change, or so it seems to me.
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I don’t know that I’m calling for it, but I’m thinking that someone who took up that cudgel, and not in the obviously phony way that Perot did, might do pretty well politically–the suggestion was made that the first person to try and talk to the electorate like a grown-up would get smushed. I just wonder if that’s so.
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If he made a promise not to bring out pie charts, I’d vote for Perot right now.
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Was Perot really phony? I thought he was weird (they’re going to sabotage my daughter’s wedding!), which is different.
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I’d recall weird more than phony also. But I don’t recall paying that much attention to him at the time.
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I think I agree with Amy P here; when Tim says “not in the obviously phony way that Perot did,” I’m not sure I know what he’s referring to. That Perot was an oddball is indisputable; that his ability to play, as Tim put it, the “harsh old curmudgeonly bastard” who tells us “you’re the problem, America: it’s time to grow up” was in some sense “obviously phony” is, I think, far less clear. (The constant and, perhaps, unavoidable problem of any quest for populist authenticity in politics: the bearers of such almost by definition can’t ever be admirable, well-adjusted people.)
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When the revolution comes, we’ll name a street after Perot. Not a main avenue, but maybe a longish street in a nice residential area or something.
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