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Although it's great fun to blame the situation on the Organizer iN chiEf, I fear the problem is both more fundamental and more intractable. It lies within the electorate itself, and hence must surely taint the entirety of the structure.

Professor Hanson speaks of the truth perceived by the masses, and his comments strike their mark. And yet, these falsehoods exist only because the recipients of the media message are willfully and persistently ignorant. While there is no sin in ignorance, there is no virtue in embracing the condition. Unfortunately, we as a nation have chosen falsehoods that conform to our current whims rather than insisting on rigorous truth first.

That said, reality is a patient teacher - one who maintains a constant, unchanging standard. It is persistent, and will provide its lessons endlessly. It is, likewise, a fair teacher, rewarding success and failure appropriately. But this teacher is unswayed by emotion or pleadings, or appeals to compassion.

IMO, YMMV - the Orwellian attitudes mentioned by the Professor mold the leadership we choose and guide the decisions they make. Those attitudes diverge from what our teacher, reality, demands. And so, in the end, we will receive a grade. Perhaps, if we're lucky, it will only be an F in a single course - meaning we will have to work very hard to make up for our deviations from the lessons. If we're not so lucky, then the F will be our final grade, and our enterprise - hence our society and our culture - will fade into oblivion.