Our Need to Stop Slinging Mud for Clickbait

In the modern news cycle, it’s ancient to talk about HBO talk show host Bill Maher going to the White House this spring to meet with President Donald Trump.

Yet, in this fractured era of clickbait when everyone is loading their weapons (and not all verbal) so they can shoot anyone who disagrees with them, I think there is value in reflecting on Maher’s visit long after the fact.

Namely, that Maher found Trump to be “gracious and measured,” according to this report in The Hill. Long critical of Trump, the comedian brought a paper listing nearly 60 insults the president had aimed at him (such as “dummy” and “sick”) and asked him to sign it.

Maher said he did not “turn MAGA” nor was there any pressure to do so. The comment that caught my attention was when the comedian said Trump is much different in private than in public.

“Just for starters he laughs,” reporter Flip Timotija quoted Maher. “I’ve never seen him laugh in public, but he does, including to himself, and it’s not fake, believe me. As a comedian of 40 years, I know a fake laugh when I hear it.”

Avoiding Eggshells

The other comment that caught my eye was Maher’s statement that he felt like he didn’t have to walk on eggshells while speaking to Trump. That’s something he said would have been unlikely around former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.

“I feel it’s emblematic of why the Democrats are so unpopular these days,” said Maher, who later noted, “A crazy person doesn’t live in the White House.”

Predictably, the story about Maher’s visit set off wild criticism of his meeting as a set-up and him serving as a tool for a wily politician. I suppose there is some truth to that, but even presidents are still human beings—as are national TV figures.

In a follow-up story that appeared after The Hill’s first, Maher talked of being vocal about his concerns and encouraging others to do the same instead of waiting out Trump’s term in silence.

“I mean, people seem to gloss over the fact that I went in there, I didn’t surrender to him,” Maher said. “I said this, of course, people don’t care. They don’t watch what I actually did. They just react to clickbait.”

Talking Points

Besides reacting to clickbait, I think much of our modern discourse on politics comes from echoing popular talking points, regardless of which side the points reflect.

A woman I know recently told me of getting in a heated argument with a family member over various issues. Her recap of the conversation sounded like one set of popular talking points butting heads with another group of opposite points.

Sometimes I wonder if we have lost our collective minds.

When I was in high school, I observed a debate over some contentious issue of the day. What impresses me years later is that there were no raised voices, pointed fingers, negative insults, or upset participants when the debate ended.

In the Wild West known as social media, it may be too much to expect rational debate. It may strain credulity to think people will turn down the thermostat or stop slinging rumors that have all the substance of cotton candy.

Yet, somehow we must. Perhaps the increasing number of states and high schools banning cell phones from their premises can signal a start.

Pulling young adults away from their devices to digest lessons on civics and intelligent discussions may take decades to pay off. But it’s a start.