Sam Smith – Donald Trump is not an eccentric character bursting into our environment. As a society, we have been slowly moving for decades toward a community that accepts many of his values. Back in the early 1950s, when I was in high school, one of my teachers was already telling us of the dangers of the hyperbolic values of advertising and public relations that were increasingly gaining strength and acceptance.
In part because the purveyors of these values were central to the success of media, there was little analysis or criticism from mainstream journalism. And because there was so little analysis or criticism, lies and exaggeration became an increasing part of culture, including politics. According to one analysis, by the end of his first presidential term, Trump had accumulated 30,573 untruths or about 21 false claims a day.
And a public that has been accepting the falsehoods of advertising and public relations for decades easily accepted such manifestations coming from Trump.
The important thing is that as bad as Trump personally is, he rose thanks to our increasing acceptance of exaggeration from innumerable public figures and firms. And even getting rid of Trump, comforting as that would be, is only an early step in getting back to reality.
