It’s apparent that the Australian media’s fascination with the freak show of U.S. politics is not about the public interest but about capitalising on the spectacle and click-bait to draw in viewers.
Look, it's probably mostly true. Let's face it, US politics is more fun because of all the unhinged people:)
However, I'm not sure whether I agree that anything has changed in this regard. There's always been the yellow press (or click-bait media) and the more responsible, in-depth media. Basically, if someone is not keen to get deep into the issues, they will choose to read the former and that's just how it is:)
The other point I would make is that it's becoming pretty clear the democracy is really under threat if Trump wins. This will consequently embolden all the dictators, including China, who might want to make a move on Taiwan, starting a major conflagration in our region. So the US election will have a lot of effect on Australia and indeed the world and, overall, it is appropriate to devote a lot of coverage to it.
Just a minor issue with this statement:
" Is it essential to know that 29 percent of those surveyed would vote for Trump and the Republicans, or that 37 percent would vote for Harris and the Democrats?"
Actually, I would argue that yes. I want to know what percentage of fascists are in our country to see how deep the rot has spread. Basically, a person's opinion of Trump is now a useful litmus test for the kind of person we are dealing with. You might say that he has helped to bring out all of our freaks, hehe:)
But certainly we have to be careful about thinking we are the 51st state. I've seriously rolled my eyes at the number of times conservatives here would parrot lines about a left-wing figure in the US being a "communist" when they support universal health care and gun control, ie completely uncontroversial things that work perfectly well in Australia and other developed countries. If everyone who is discussing US politics keeps in mind that both Republicans and Democrats are, in fact, right-wing, that would be great:)
Look, it's probably mostly true. Let's face it, US politics is more fun because of all the unhinged people:)
However, I'm not sure whether I agree that anything has changed in this regard. There's always been the yellow press (or click-bait media) and the more responsible, in-depth media. Basically, if someone is not keen to get deep into the issues, they will choose to read the former and that's just how it is:)
The other point I would make is that it's becoming pretty clear the democracy is really under threat if Trump wins. This will consequently embolden all the dictators, including China, who might want to make a move on Taiwan, starting a major conflagration in our region. So the US election will have a lot of effect on Australia and indeed the world and, overall, it is appropriate to devote a lot of coverage to it.
Just a minor issue with this statement:
" Is it essential to know that 29 percent of those surveyed would vote for Trump and the Republicans, or that 37 percent would vote for Harris and the Democrats?"
Actually, I would argue that yes. I want to know what percentage of fascists are in our country to see how deep the rot has spread. Basically, a person's opinion of Trump is now a useful litmus test for the kind of person we are dealing with. You might say that he has helped to bring out all of our freaks, hehe:)
But certainly we have to be careful about thinking we are the 51st state. I've seriously rolled my eyes at the number of times conservatives here would parrot lines about a left-wing figure in the US being a "communist" when they support universal health care and gun control, ie completely uncontroversial things that work perfectly well in Australia and other developed countries. If everyone who is discussing US politics keeps in mind that both Republicans and Democrats are, in fact, right-wing, that would be great:)