They say that all politics is local. This is true. Equally true is the notion that the government closest to you is the entity of government that affects you the most. So, when local politics and the power brokers behind local politics are corrupt the people suffer.
Corrupt politicians are nothing new to politics. They are chronicled back to the Roman Empire and before. Power plays during the times of the Pharaohs were commonplace and the Ides of March saw Caesar on the wrong end of a multitude of daggers. So, too, are power brokers infamously enshrined in the annals of history (I should have used a play on the word anal, but I assume you all did anyway).
One of the most significant double-edged swords to emerge in recent years where politics and government are concerned is social media.
On the one hand, it obliterates the monopoly on information that the mainstream media held to date. No longer can the “Big 3” networks propagandize ideologically about things like the Tet Offensive (actually a significant victory for the United States but characterized as a loss by Walter Cronkite and the rest of the mainstream media) and get away with molding the opinions of the American people. Social media has allowed the people to call the propagandist media out on manipulation.
On the other hand, we have disingenuous power players (or “trolls,” which I have written about recently) who seed disingenuous content on social media to further the poison-politics of their “operative” candidates, most often elected officials running for re-election who would serve as a gateway to monetary benefit to special interest parties. A perfect example of this would be the politician running for re-election who is bankrolled by deep pocket developers who expect quid pro quo when zoning variances and other legislation come before the local authority. “You give me a contribution and I will see the good in your project for the community,” or, in other words, “You wash my back and I’ll wash yours.”
Social media trolls will gin-up unwarranted outrage by seeding disingenuous content and queries so that people engage emotionally, and before they explore the facts of the matter from valid and legitimate sources. This is the sharper edge of the double-edged sword. Our society has become so addicted to convenience that they mistake (or not) supposition for fact because they believe they are getting legitimate information on social media.
Read the full story from NoisyRoom.net
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