Bullshitter-in-Chief

Excellent article over at The Conversation about Trump as bullshitter rather than liar, and why that is much more dangerous.

It seems to me that we've created a culture of citizens who are constantly in bias confirmation mode.  It's a hyper-partisan environment that reminds me somewhat of how we view our sports teams and sometimes even our families.  We're constantly scanning the environment for information that supports our view of our sports team or political point of view, and we easily dismiss or ignore contrary information.  Even if we might benefit from that knowledge.

I know that I am susceptible to this phenomena.  Less so now that I've eliminated almost all sources of broadcast news, radio and television.  My news is now limited to an occasional scan of newspapers and a blog or two.  Combined with a daily meditation program, I think I'm blunting the spoon-feeding of emotion that we call journalism.

On the other hand, I also understand that there are real-life implications for the agenda that our dear leader has.  Real people will be impacted in harmful ways.  The funny thing is, I simply don't get the sense from Trump that he cares about any of this - one way or another.  Almost in the same way that I have no interest in camping or knitting.  The sense I get is of a person who wants to take advantage of a population looking for information to confirm their bias and their fear of others.

That's what makes his bullshit so dangerous.