We all smugly laugh at the US electing this clown for a 2nd time, yet this begs the question: if Trump was here in AU, would we elect him? Now we probably have a hearty guffaw pondering this, but are you sure? We elect sports heroes (Sam Groth, David Pocock), crazy Pauline Hansen, even a rock/roller Peter Garrett. Even Ukraine elected a comedian (which ultimately was not a bad decision).
Society is nothing but cults of personalities. We idolise the rich, the sports heroes, the movie stars (not scientists though... far too geeky).
What these personalities understand, which the common person doesn't, is that there are no rules in society, and that the only currency in society is notoriety. What's the saying: any PR is good as long as they spell your name right.
And, to me, this fealty to personalities will only get worse, because now that we have access to all the world's information in our hands, someone needs to be even more radical in order to gain that notoriety. A personality who wants to be elected and is just a good solid human being will be left in the dust... how boring of them.
Each society believes that 'our' society has a underlying structure which somehow stops the bad apples, and it is simply not true. The only thing that saves us is that society is a bell-curve, and most people have similar needs to each other. But the bell-curve is fragile and can easily be swayed depending on the personality. Australia is no different.
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