Donald Trump’s Misdirection
“Have you ever heard of Harry Houdini? Well, he wasn’t like today’s magicians who are only interested in television ratings. He was an artist. He could make an elephant disappear in the middle of a theater filled with people, and do you know how he did that?
Misdirection.
What the eyes see and the ears hear, the mind believes.”
Today, I am reminded of this famous quote from the movie, Swordfish. Perhaps Travolta’s best work after Pulp Fiction.
Seems like Donald Trump got his training from Harry Houdini himself. The latest decision to quit Paris Climate Accord seems clearly like a misdirection.
The best part of it is, we all will still fall for it. Under pressure from all corners about variety of legal, illegal and unethical issues, Trump has done what any seasoned politician will do. Change the Subject!
For the last 24 hours, no one seems to care about Russia or hacking or any other issues that have clouded Trump’s presidency over the last 3 months.
What I found particularly fascinating is the role that social media plays in it. There was a time when I thought about the digital audience (the cool microbloggers on Twitter) as a discerning lot. Those who can separate the wheat from the chaff.
But, I am alarmingly proven wrong everytime! They are as ignorant and as gullible as the TV viewer or the newspaper reader. And it’s not Trump or US politics. It’s everywhere! Most news that comes our way is purely an attempt at ‘misdirection’.
I am waiting for someone to break through this clutter and come up with a genuine media outlet. Not right wing, not left wing, not even a centrist. Someone who is factual and can remain that!
If not, we are all doomed in this new age news world where everyone is a journalist.
