American Carnage: Explained

“American Carnage:” Explained

            As we continue to listen to Donald Trump lie about reality --- an economy that is failing (it isn’t), where crime is rampant (it’s not), and where undocumented immigrants are overrunning our cities and suburbs (they’re not) --- we would be right to question: “What America is Donald Trump looking at?”  I think I have actually, finally, figured that out.

            Coming home from lunch with the ever-thoughtful Del (“Delbert”) Shortliffe Thursday, we began talking about “popular” television.  I brought up the new Don Johnson vehicle, Doctor Odyssey --- a show set on an elegant cruise ship and, apparently, focusing on the Cruise ship’s Doctor saving lives on a weekly basis (amid a bit of comedy, drama, and various on-board liaisons).  Noting that I wasn’t aware of an abundance of Cruise ship medical emergencies since the cessation of Covid, I also noted that, before NCIS was on the air I didn’t realize there was so much Naval Crime!  At that point, Delbert pointed out that he found many of the situations on Law & Order: SVU must surely surprise members of the NYPD, what with Olivia Benson being kidnapped and tortured as an example of a “plot twist” that demands an extremely liberal suspension of disbelief.  And that’s when I realized how Donald Trump has come to the conclusions he has about the state of our Nation.

            Given that Trump’s entire political career was based on the (illusory) notion that he actually was the protagonist of The Apprentice --- for real!  Mark Burnett’s creation, Donald Trump, the brilliant entrepreneur, and real estate mogul, was, of course, a fiction.  But Donald Trump, the failed businessman (see: Trump Airlines, Trump Steaks, Trump University, Trump Ice/Water, Trump Fragrance, Truth Social, et al) and convicted (for fraud) felon, is someone who believes his own lies and, therefore, bought Burnett’s fiction as a reality.  And being the salesman he is, Trump managed to convince a huge swath of the U.S. voting public that The Apprentice’s fictive Donald Trump, is, in fact, a reality.  And, if Trump believes that himself it does not take a great leap to understand why he creates his word salads about how America is overrun by crime and violence.  He sees it on television!

            We know Trump does not (and never has)read books, magazines, newsfeeds, blogs, etc.  But we also know that Trump watches television --- lots of television.  Between “broadcast” tv (CBS, NBC, ABC, PBS) and the cable networks (we’ll leave streaming out, as that might be too complicated, given Trump’s small hands trying to manipulate the remote), we can gain some insight into why Donald Trump sees the world the way he does.  Let’s take a look at what it is that Donald Trump might be watching --- believing it’s the reality of American Life.

            Let’s also remember that Donald Trump is always the Hero of his own narrative, so we can easily see who, on tv shows, he identifies with --- and how that helps shape the public persona we see making speeches.  So, what’s he watching?  If we start with Dick Wolf’s police procedural empire, we find the following programs on the broadcast and cable channels --- available almost any hour every day.  Wolf’s shows are the Law & Order franchise (Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order: Organized Crime), the Chicago franchise (Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, Chicago P.D.), and the FBI franchise (FBI, FBI: Internaional, FBI: Most Wanted).  Needless to say, the violence and mayhem are rampant --- and happening Coast to Coast, with the heroic police, firefighters, and doctors trying to keep it all under control.  Then, of course, we get to the aforementioned Naval Crime.  Starting with the show J.A.G. (the Navy’s Judge Advocate General office), Donald Bellasario discovered naval crime was a bottomless source for criminal activity --- not only here in the U.S. but well beyond our borders.  Bellasario’s franchise includes NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, NCIS: New Orleans, NCIS: Hawaii, NCIS: Sydney, and now, NCIS: Origins.  Then, too, we’ve had the CSI franchise: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, CSI:Vegas.  Add to these franchises the ever-popular broadcast (and now, cable) programs Blue Bloods, The Closer, Major Crimes, Castle, The Rookie, S.W.A.T., Criminal Minds, Bones, East New York, Elementary, Unforgettable, In Plain Sight.  I’m sure, at this point, you get the idea.

            Add to this list shows like Breaking Bad, Sons of Anarchy, and Bosch, and we see non-stop crime, violence, mayhem, and madness.   If we beamed all these shows into outer space and aliens watched them, their conclusions would be the same as those Donald Trump has come to:  American Carnage.  Gangs, terrorists, “dirty” bombs, political and criminal conspiracies, organized crime, disorganized crime, kidnapping, rape, abuse, and murder abound --- it’s everywhere you turn (on tv).  And, if you are sub-literate and believe shows like The Apprentice are, in fact, “reality,” then the world is, indeed, a horrible and dangerous place.  Looking at it from this perspective, it’s easy to see where Donald Trump’s vision of America comes from.  His reality has never been genuine “reality.”  He is the product of Reality TV, and his vision is that TV is Reality.

            American Carnage

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