Title: Life’s a Bitch – An Epic Saga of Political Enlightenment
Authored by David Samuels via TabletMag.com
If a future historian writes an authentic chronicle of the 2024 presidential campaign, they might start by acknowledging that American politics flows downstream of American culture, a deep and broad river. Like any river, American culture follows a specific path that has been altered at crucial junctures by new technologies. These technologies, which redefine space and time, such as canals, the postal system, the telegraph, railroads, radio, television, the internet, and most recently, the networking of billions of people in real-time on social media platforms, establish the rules by which stories are communicated, audiences are configured, and individuals define themselves.
Something significant shifted after 2000 in the way we communicated and absorbed new information, marking the ongoing transition from 20th-century media to our current digital landscape. This revolution, occurring once every five centuries, has had substantial effects, rendering the assumptions and social forms of the past century obsolete. Even as many people, including those at the top of the social and intellectual hierarchy, cling to a version of the long 20th century.
The time was ripe for a cultural revolution, which historically leads to a political one. The collapse of the 20th-century media pyramid, upon which Walter Lippmann’s assumptions rested, and its rapid replacement by monopoly social media platforms, enabled the Obama White House to sell policy and reshape social attitudes and prejudices in new ways.
I first became intrigued by the role of digital technology in reshaping American politics a decade ago when reporting on Barack Obama’s Iran deal for The New York Times Magazine. The deal seemed odd, not only because American Jews historically played a crucial role in the Democratic Party but also because it appeared to undermine the core assumptions of U.S. security architecture in the Middle East.
During my reporting, I realized that Obama’s plans for the Middle East were more than just geopolitical maneuvers. They were a means to remake the Democratic Party by rewiring the machinery that shaped public opinion. The collapse of the world of print left Obama with little choice but to create a new reality online.
This shift from traditional media to digital platforms allowed the White House to manipulate public opinion and control narratives through echo chambers. Ben Rhodes, Obama’s chief speechwriter, described how the collapse of print media forced the administration to forge a new reality online.
The collapse of the 20th-century media pyramid and its replacement by monopoly social media platforms paved the way for Obama to control functions of the state through his digital switchboard. The COVID-19 pandemic further accelerated the spread of rapid-onset political enlightenment, creating mass social contagions akin to the 1950s dance crazes.
As the fever spread, spouses, children, colleagues, and supervisors began reciting slogans they had only learned recently, reflecting a rapid change in beliefs and behaviors legislated outside traditional democratic institutions.
The collapse of the Obama-led domestic and international order marked the end of his pretensions as a world leader. Netanyahu’s strategic moves in the Middle East and Musk’s acquisition of Twitter led to a reordering of power dynamics, challenging the Democratic Party’s control.
Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter and Trump’s defiance against conformity were pivotal moments in challenging the prevailing narrative. Individuals must be brave enough to resist the mirror world of digitally enforced conformity, fostering independent thought and action.
As for Barack Obama, facing the consequences of his arrogance and power-hungry nature was inevitable. Life, as a wise man once said, is indeed a challenging journey.