When the Spotlight’s Not So Bright

By , March 1, 2016 8:49 am

Neil Goldschmidt_5629lFor a whiff of why the press is dumping on Trump—as well they should—and not so much on Hillary (and maybe Bernie), you only need read this.

Sunday evening, Spotlight won best picture for its portrayal of the Boston Globe’s coverage of the Catholic Church’s cover up of sex abuse. Abuse such as that should be exposed—and I say this as a fan of the Catholic Church. The light of day prevents rot. So where was the Spotlight in the case of the Mayor of Portland, then Governor of Oregon, Neil Goldschmidt as he cavorted openly with his 14-year old babysitter? Well, some people turned it off because, well, Goldschmidt was such a good governor.

Unless and until we have an equal opportunity Spotlight, things will only get worse. That Trump is leading in the polls is, in part, a response to partisan cover ups like this.

Here’s my take on Trump voters: They’re not responsive to all the well-sourced and factual mud being slung his way because they’ve learned that there’s mud to be slung at the other side, and it’s not being slung. The Spotlight was turned off on Bill Clinton’s shenanigans. Yes, I know the press covered Monica Lewinsky, but grudgingly. But it was all Juanita Broderick who? Kathleen Wiley who? Paula Jones? “If you drag a hundred dollar bill* through a trailer park, you never know what you’ll find.” It’s just sex after all.

And in President Obama’s case, the Spotlight was used only to create a halo at photo ops.**

“So what the hell!” the Trump voter cries, “I’m voting for Trump!”

I’m not. But I know at least one reason why they are.

The Ursula Le Guin reference at the beginning of the second story deserves repeating:

The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas,’ is set in the ultimate Shining City on a Hill, a place of joy and happiness, full of educated, creative types who spend their days frolicking at festivals and occasionally indulging in (non-habit-forming) drugs that reveal the secrets of the universe while ‘exciting the pleasure of sex beyond all belief.’

There are ‘fast little trains and double-decked trams’ in Omelas. And a farmers’ market.

‘If the child were brought up into the sunlight, … all the prosperity and beauty and delight of Omelas would wither and be destroyed. … The child’s torture is no secret. The good people of Omelas know.’

How great is Omelas that we look the other way? Have a nice day.
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*Only just now did I notice Carville’s Freudian slip.

**I won’t bring them up here, but I’m not oblivious to the fact that Right has done its fair share of covering up as well, the only difference being that the media is largely liberal, so such cover ups are less successful.

UPDATE: @MZHemingway_2016-03-01_1244

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