When Ronald Reagan was quoted, "Politics is just like show business" in the Postman's book Amusing Ourselves to Death, I was quite surprised. I won't completely disagree with what Postman said in that particular chapter, because it is partially true. It is true that politicians use TV commercials as part of their campaign methods, and it is true that they are considered as celebrities in some societies. But I don't think politics can be termed as "entertainment". Politics is still serious today. I mean you do see Obama and James Cameron taking trips every month to visit other countries and improve foreign relations. You do know about the important meetings between world leaders. You do have the UN as well, no? I remember watching the news in India where one of the celebrities, John Abraham, was being interviewed about the elections. Abraham was expressing his anger towards those who weren't voting, mainly the poor, because he said that "it is their leader who will be making their laws!". Quite disturbed he was.
But that's one example. Look at he past US history presidents. Postman says that people vote based on appearance. Sure, Obama, Bush, Clinton, Reagan, Carter, and Nixon were all slim and good looking men. But if you look back into history Mr. Postman, you'll see that this doesn't happen all the time. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was rather big and buff. He wasn't obese, but he was definitely bigger than all the presidents I just listed. He was arguably the best president the United States has ever had. Clearly, Postman didn't have all his facts right. Maybe it is because today's generation is easier to manipulate from all the commercials. Maybe Roosevelt was lucky (he wasn't). What my main argument here is that though Postman has a point, its not always like that.
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