Biden and the Presidential Media Monarchy

Modern presidents are monopolizing peoples' attention as if they were monarchs

The silver lining of the Biden administration is Biden’s reluctance to appear much on TV or anywhere really.

As far as presidents go this silver lining should become the gold standard.

For after our encounter with presidents past it is clear that presidents should not, with the exception of a national emergency, appear on TV.

To willingly and frequently do so is to create the trappings of a media monarch.

And America has famously, although perhaps not recently, rejected monarchy with the most damning rebuttal to that form of government found in the Declaration of Independence.

And even with their typical republican civility the founders did not allow the king to publish a rebuttal to the Declaration in their newspapers.

Nor would they have given George a microphone to posture before the public.

This is because the founders hated monarchy.

The founders hated monarchy in 1776 for the same reason why we should hate modern presidents’ aspirations to becoming media monarchs  -- monarchy, televised or otherwise, is too intrusive in the daily life of ordinary citizens.

For in modern times the president has overwhelmingly become the focal point of most Americans’ attention at the expense of other pressing and under-represented matters.  

In fact with presidents past so much attention was given to them that men even spoke more frequently -- and with higher praise -- of the president than their own wives.  How’s that for marital fidelity?

Likewise the modern presidency’s media monopoly on ordinary citizens’ attention is undermining US Congress’ and state legislatures' connection to the people they’re supposed to represent. 

The founders too would have hated this for tipping the balance of powers away from the state and federal governments they worked so hard to create.

Thus like the founders canceling King George in 1776 we too should cancel presidents on TV in 2022.  After all who knows -- perhaps then we’d be able to declare our own independence from televised nonsense and the tyrannical ambitions of modern presidents.

Zigmund Reichenbach holds a M.A. in Philosophy from West Chester University.  You can find him commenting on news stories of national and state interest at his Facebook page Zigmund Reichenbach -- Commentator or you can follow him on Twitter @zreichenbach1.  Additionally you can find episodes of the weekly Sunday podcast (4PM) that airs via Youtube, Facebook, and Twitter at this link here. 

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