24 - Catchphrases are not Superheroes

"Our major obligation is not to mistake slogans for solutions"

               -Edward Murrow

       In a world of upheaval and resistance at every turn, the global population is searching for solutions. Problems with the globe and its people alike have pit civilization against itself in a winless tug-of-war with no end in sight. This endless war has led to a worldwide search for answers fueled by desperation. Out of this search, Edward Murrow points out a flaw when he states, “our major obligation is not to mistake slogans for solutions”. His concern is that out of desperation, the population will latch itself onto an idea that is really just a tagline, not a true solution. Casted by blindness, the population will mistake this catchphrase for a working solution, when in reality it is another coy for power and publicity. This storyline is shown to be the case with one instance, Donald Trump’s presidency and campaign promises.



       Donald Trump arguably won the US presidential election in 2016 because he was an outsider. People connected with him because he wanted to “drain the swamp”, boost jobs, increase the military, and “make America great again”. That was his campaign slogan- “make America great again”; but that was all that it was, simply a slogan. His catchphrase, mind-hooker, tagline. “Make America great again” is not a solution, though many people affiliated his tagline with a true solution of fixing America’s problems. Trump’s campaign was full of these little sound bites that hooked the public’s ear, soothing them into a false sense of security that he was the magical antidote to all of their problems. In reality, the public elected a reality-TV show host, a coy businessman, a glorified toddler with an ego the size of Mount Kilimanjaro, a racist and sexist fool, not a president. The public allowed an ignorant, egotistical racist to become the commander-in-chief of the United States, therefore not living up to their individual obligations to “not mistake slogans for solutions”.