This time around, I’ve chosen a quotation that dovetails with this being the month we here in America hold national elections.
I was planning to use a different quotation. One that definitely comes to mind this time of year. But things got a little messy as I was doing my fact-checking. First, while Lucius Annaeus Seneca usually gets the credit, it would seem Edward Gibbon deserves the credit. However, if you look at what Gibbon actually wrote (in The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire), his wording is quite different. So who wrote it? Damned if I know. That’s why I decided to just step right over this thorny issue altogether. I’ve chosen another quotation to use instead as my November ‘quote of the month.’
Former President Barack Obama has referred to campaign season as “the silly season.” And that it seems. But doesn’t “silly” also seem an inadequate descriptor, considering the seriousness of what’s at stake on Election Day? For example, many of the things the Trump Administration has done are downright dangerous, for the country, for the world, and for posterity.
With that said, here is this month’s ‘Quote of the Month’ (this comes from Thomas Pynchon’s 1973 novel Gravity’s Rainbow):
“If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don’t have to worry about answers.” — Thomas Pynchon
It’s easy to see how asking the wrong questions gets in the way of having a meaningful and intelligent discussion of important issues. But also consider the veritable mountain of money that’s fueling that and shaping what questions are asked. In 2024 alone, close to $15 billion was spent on the Congressional races and the Presidential race, combined.
I’ll end with this. Curious, I put this question to Google: If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don’t have to worry about the answers. How does this apply to politics and election campaigns?
Here was Google’s response:
This quote means that controlling the framework of a debate, prevents the need to defend policy failures, centering instead on cultural panic, false choices, and superficial traits. Campaigns use this tactic to distract voters from systemic issues.
Framing the Debate
- Culture over economics: Shifting focus to identity or social outrage instead of wealth gaps or healthcare costs.
- False binaries: Reducing complex choices to extreme opposites, forcing voters to pick a side in a manufactured feud.
- Scapegoating: Blaming opposing groups for structural problems rather than examining institutional flaws.
Deflecting Accountability
- Wag the dog: Creating media storms around minor gaffes to bury major policy records.
- System vs source: Debating how to police a problem rather than asking why the root cause exists.