#i literally voted the same on all of those stupid polls and was shocked every time

[punk-pandame]

im not posting those vitriolic asks, if you want me to understand then tell me like a grown up how giving unsolicited opinions and feedback on others gender identities and/or sexualities is okay and how tf its transmisogynistic when i think you shouldn't do that to anyone

[all-hail-the-witcher]

so now that its been over a year since ive graduated high school id like to tell you all a story that ive been thinking about a lot recently. its a bit long, but i promise its worth it. 

this post gets political, fair warning

for context: i went to high school in a very upper middle class, very white town. everyone i talk about in this story is white. 

trigger warning: mentions of the german political administration during ww2, their tactics, and extreme right politics 

junior year i took ap us history. the class itself was absolutely fantastic, definitely one of the best i took in high school. but we had Quite the assortment of kids...

my high school had this dumb thing called the university program. essentially you applied in 8th grade and it was advertised as this Special Accelerated Learning Program. spoiler alert: it was pretty stupid, all we did was take a certain number of ap classes per year and do x amount of community service. everyone hated it but we all stuck it out cause you got a chord at graduation. so if you were in the university program, you started only being in class with like a variation of the same 75 people. ap us history was one of those classes. 

in our class we had quite the mix: 98% of us were members of national honor society but in addition we had the girl who would go on to be the salutatorian, this one guy who knew more about bitcoin than anyone should, two football players who were actually not assholes, and this really passionately german kid. 

now this german kid, were going to call him s. he was...interesting. he was very very smart (everyone thought he was going to be valedictorian but he wasn't) but he took his ethnicity very seriously. and when i say ethnicity im referring to that period of german history from 1939-1945. s knew far too much about german politics, esp ww2 german politics (if youre picking up what im putting down there) and he often went as far as to “correct” our various teachers whenever germany came up and talk about very radical right ideas. but our apush teacher was a no-nonsense kinda lady and had no problem telling him “s youre wrong” which all of us absolutely Loved.

the other person in our story is one of the not asshole football players. we’ll call him d. he was what you Wished football players were like, nice, funny, almost like a class clown, would no doubt stand up for anyone getting shit talked, talked to everyone in class no matter what their “group” was and he was really smart, but not in an in your face kinda way like s was. 

so anyway. in apush we would periodically have these Round Table Debates, where there were 4 groups: 1 group of jurors who would ask questions and then three teams that were defending their own stance on whatever historical argument we were having. our teacher would sit in the back corner and take shorthand notes on what we were saying, essentially leaving the entire discussion up to us except to tell us when it was time to move on to the next group. we all Loved round table debates because we were all an intelligent group and ended up having really deep and insightful debates and also whichever team won got 5 points of extra credit as did the juror who asked the best questions. about halfway through the year, we had a debate on what to do with the philippines after world war 2 (because they were technically a us colony at that time)

i dont remember what the three different stances were that we were arguing, but i do remember that d was one of the jurors and had asked one of the teams a question. s happened to be on this team and he answered the question. they went back and forth for awhile and things started to get Pretty Heated. we were all watching them intently, not really understanding a good half of what was being said because s had a way of talking in complicated circles that took at least 5 braincells minimum to understand, and all of us being crazy ap students, only had about 2 brain cells each. 

but then, s said something in his usual backwards fashion, and d paused dramatically, staring at s intently and all of us were collectively like o shit. i have never heard a classroom that quiet, you could hear a literal pin drop. we were all waiting for 1. d to decipher what s had just said and 2. see what he was going to say in return. 

several long moments passed. d leaned forwards in his seat, so far that it looked like he was going to tip the desk over, and, looking completely and utterly baffled, opened his mouth and said:

“are you defending e t h n i c   c l e a n s i n g?”

the entire classroom e r u p t e d. cause holy shit, we all knew that s had some, to put it very simply, problematic conservative viewpoints that linked back to ww2 administration germany, but no one had ever called him out on it before (aside from our teacher telling him to be quiet during her lectures). and also this was supposed to be a history role play debate of sorts, the whole point of it was to take on a viewpoint that might not be your own and argue it to the best of your ability. but d knew and everyone else in the class knew that ethnic cleansing was not something that s was pretending to defend for the sake of the debate (public school might be wild but we never touched that topic in a debate setting because our teacher knew that it would make people uncomfortable to argue in favor of), it wasn't even in the prompt sheet, it was something that he had come up with entirely on his own.

so when s started spewing random nonsense as an attempt to backtrack and take back what he had just said, d started shouting back at him about how it was wrong and was halfway out of his seat, fists clenched, ready to literally fight s (if you recall, d was a football/baseball/wrestling guy, at least 6 feet tall, and as far as high school guys go, pretty jacked. he was Scary when he was mad) 

it was at this exact moment that our teacher spoke up (which she n e v e r did during debates). she looked pretty shocked at the whole turn of events (as in, s defending ethnic cleansing, not d almost decking him) (and nothing ever phased her) and said, as calmly as she could muster, “alright. lets move on to the next question.” 

we were all 16/17 year olds. we couldn't vote yet, but we still had very strong opinions. and d knew the implications of s’s opinions, knew that they were hurtful to other people, promoted the hurting of other people, and called him out on it. publicly. in front of our history class, filled with his friends and peers, our teacher, and some of the smartest kids in our grade. 

after that day, s never suggested radical right ideas in class again, and if anyone else had similar ideas, they kept them to themselves. and from that point on d had my complete and utter respect. 

now, im not telling you to almost beat up your classmate in class in front of your teacher and risk suspension, but if someone you know has a viewpoint (especially a young person) that is hurtful or promotes hate/harm to a group of people, dont be afraid to try and educate them. we might be young and the older generations might brush us off, but in a few years its going to be this generation pulling most of the weight in polls. educate your ignorant friends, family members, classmates etc. every little bit helps. and education is the only way that we will be able to promote change. this is not a battle that we are going to win overnight, but that doesnt mean we should ignore it if it doesnt affect us. 

(oh and yes, d totally got 5 extra credit points from that debate)

((if this post offends anyone or is wrong in any way let me know and ill take it down or edit it))

[naturaldisasterfanfiction]

9.

A day later and I feel like everything that happened was just a dream, like the Diamond Ball didn’t happen, but it did and it went well but that is to my face of course, but now the question on everyone’s lips is who is the father. I don’t have my mobile on me, I gave it Dennis and told him to keep it to him because I don’t want to see what is being said about me, I am not stupid. I know they all are being nice to me because they are at my event, speaking to Cardi she was happy for me but then it kind of slid out on who is the dad and I felt so defensive about it so I need to just step back and not be so uptight about something any person would ask, I would ask. I am nosey like that but no, I was there like dog with a bone when someone insinuated about who the dad is, I need to just calm down with how I react but it’s done now and I know Jen is out there waiting for me to get out, she has been coming to my bedroom door asking constantly when I am coming out, I know they will have a lot of things to tell me which I have been ignoring, I just feel a little weird that people know and are now judging me but who cares. I think I am a little too overprotective and I felt myself slip and I didn’t like people touching my stomach too, when I say people I know these people, but they aren’t family, the excitement got the better of them. I had photographers near falling over each other to get a picture, they shouted many things, they didn’t want my family on the carpet, they were in the way. Let’s just say I made the right decision to release the information myself before I went on the carpet, I still find it slightly funny that the video does look like I am releasing skin care so I can only imagine how my fans felt.

I have left my slumber, I told everyone to leave me alone for a full day after the ball, so this is kind of like the first day seeing my family since. I just needed peace, but I can only imagine the messages I am getting, I told Dennis to answer them unless it’s important then leave them and I will answer them but I have been given space so now it is time to face the music “if it isn’t the lazy bitch herself, she shouted at me twice. Shouting ever so loudly saying don’t come and wake up, I am ok. Leave me alone, you lucky Monica is here, and she said let you rest, cause chile. We been working” they all look busy “well I am here for the talk; I am guessing everyone is being dramatic?” pulling the chair out “you want some food baby?” my mom asked, I huffed out as I sat down “not right now no, I am ok. You got Noella working too? Look at her” I am impressed “do you know how many messages you are getting; Dennis couldn’t deal. Your fans are using your email address for your business ventures to either complain or say how happy they are, so I am helping out, it’s fun to read and delete. But I am glad you are all rested up, after a long night and a lot of controversy it was a needed rest for you” smiling at my cousin “thank you, someone agrees. I know y’all was bugging” I chuckled “well we needed to ask for help on some shit” Jen said side eyeing me.

I can tell they are working hard, they are incredibly quiet “so tell me, what is being said? Give me the negatives, some positives also. Thank you” I am prepared for the negatives, I mean the main one is the father of the child, I know that will be o. people’ mind rent free, it’s annoying but of course it will be the main subject “interesting night, you are still trending on twitter. Rihanna pregnant is trending still. Along with Drake, Hassan Jameel and Chris Brown. Any takers on who they think the baby father is? There is an actual poll on this, I just voted for it to see if I was right” Jen is not shit, shaking my head at her “oh let me vote!” Ja shouted across “I think Hassan won, hear me out. It is because you was quiet and mysterious with him and they will all think it is him, I think he won anyways” look at these assholes predicting shit “I say Drake” Noella put her hand up “one hundred percent Drake” shaking my head at the people I call friends “I expected better from you Melissa, Dennis you might as well add your fucking opinion too” poor guy wants to say it but he is stopping himself “I uh, no it’s ok” Jen hit his arm “she won’t fire you, Ja is still living and breathing” Dennis looked at me and I am just done with them, they can do what they like “I think it is between Hassan and Drake” nodding my head “what about you Jen?” Jen giggled, she is not shit “well I voted Drake also and the winner in this poll is” Jen smirked at me “your favourite go to man and it is Drake” I laughed shaking my head “this is what is fuelling the rumours, listen to this. Drake has been seen partying with Rihanna in London and as yet, hear this. He had yet to confirm if the rumours are true. He has not posted anything since the announcement” shaking my head sighing out “wow ok, so I am ok to be a step mom with Drake but if it were Chris it’s hell, so nobody voted for Chris?” I am curious to know “he is actually last on the list, crazy” that is interesting to know, they really think it’s Drake’ baby and he is just not posting just to fuel that.

Chewing on my bottom lip thinking, it’s jus mind blowing to me to think people would want me to be with Drake or even Hassan then Chris, when Chris out of them both is the sweetest, he is very misjudged in so many ways. Drake is actually a dickhead and Hassan wanted things I couldn’t give him, he did make me happy but I am not willing to change me in any way where I had to leave my religion and he wasn’t either, but he was manipulative in some ways too, I just never win with men. With Chris he likes to be real, not everyone can handle real “Jay wants to speak to you” Dennis said “tell him I don’t want to speak to him, he didn’t want to come to my event but wants to tell me about myself? I know that nigga want to come at me because I lied, I didn’t tell him. Text him back right now, you tell him. When I am ready to speak to you I will, this is my journey without your chains. Bye” I spat, I knew he was coming out of the woodwork “I have a lot of messages about who the father is, what should I say?” Jen asked “I don’t want no interviews, magazine or whatever I don’t care. The father is” I dragged out, what do I say. I need to think “I am not saying it is Chris, just put that the father does not want to be disclosed and that I need time of privacy, something along those lines. Next?” I mean they obviously been waiting for me to come out of my slumber “nothing really, we just wanted to see you. But the dress you wore, it sold out already.  You have been praised with how elegant you looked; how beautiful you look. I mean look at this picture” Ja turned the laptop to me, my smile grew “I look good you know” I am taken aback by how happy I look, I was stressing so much in the SUV and then look at that, my happiness “lots of compliments, the compliments is more then the hate anyways. But we just wanted to see you and baby Fenty, see you are both ok” I cooed out “how cute of you all, I feel a weight has been lifted. Just have another to go” I am going to have to tell Chris, I think it is time “I need to speak to you Robyn” Mel said “shall we go somewhere” nodding my head ad I got up.

Mel touched my stomach “it’s so nice to see you pregnant, I can’t wait to meet baby Fenty. It’s going to be so exciting” smiling down at my stomach “same” I said in a whisper “how are you feeling? Truthfully, with everything that had come you now. Do you feel like a weight has been lifted?” I shrugged “I think the weight will be lifted once I see Chris, once I tell him and explain to him. At the end of the day I have kept a child he don’t know about and as a father to this child he has every right to know, so I feel like I have done bad and makes me no different from any other girl, he may not have wanted that. But I will be truthful to him and say if you don’t want to know then it’s fine, I won’t be upset about it because then I will just have to work harder with loving my child, but I know Chris. I mean I am just, yeah. I think I need this talk, I am ready for him to get me angry” Mel laughed “you seem so relieved to know Chris is the dad then Drake or Hassan” I breathed out “oh my god, they are unbearable and it makes it worse when you don’t love the person, you don’t care them. This baby, it’s just my mom is right. It was meant to come; I mean I know we used a condom. I would have been a young mother really if we let what happened in the past happen, but I am ok with it being Chris, but his reaction will be interesting” Mel laughed nervously “same, well I have to admit something to you. Don’t bark at me, let me just say it” letting out an oh, I should have known she done something dumb “so I text Chris because I really wanted him to come to the Ball, I feel like he needs to be told sooner rather then later. That is just me. I messaged him that himself and Mijo can come, I will be there. I just think you know it would be good, he is family now but he replied back that he loves me and that Rihanna is foul, she knows what she did and that you need to take your drunken sex with talks somewhere else, and I was like oh shit he mad, mad and now I am like you got issues, but I did that” staring at my Mel with my mouth hung open.

I am shocked he is angry at me telling him to go “now he is being petty, fuck that” I said laughing “what did you do to him?” Mel asked, but I didn’t do anything and that’s the funny part “we had sex, we literally got drunk, we made out and had sex. I woke up like fuck, he is here still and told him to go unless he was expecting me to hug him after that? You are kidding me?” I didn’t do anything to him, he can’t be real “but you don’t know what he was feeling, in his mind he was probably wanting all that lovey dovey shit, I mean when I was looking at you both. You looked so happy; he was smiling. Maybe he did want that? He does love you; I mean plenty of men do but the love between you both is different, he was probably on a different page, you was on a I need sex page and he was probably on a I just want to love this woman. But he is hurt, so I am guessing he is going to be butt hurt about the fact I invited him and then found out you pregnant?” I groaned out “it’s kind of worse now, but either way I need to get this done before I leave California so since you want to be so fucking confident in messaging him behind my back, I said no because I wasn’t going to tell him before. You can now get him to come here, find a way” getting up from the couch.

That makes me laugh so much, he is such an asshole. He was the same nigga having me and Kae at the same time and I lowered myself to that fucking level and he wants to be butt hurt over telling him to go, I swear to god. I feel angry at it, how can he be angry when he had me and didn’t treat me right then, I am pissed. Mel told me that now I am just irritated, I feel anger towards him, and I feel like now I want to argue with him, but I won’t, because this has to be a grown talk. I can’t even comprehend the foolish man being hurt by what I did, what about me. We didn’t end on mutual fucking terms, I walked away from him and had the fucking nerve to be upset when he had Kae on the low, he went back to that and how the fuck did he think I felt and then he still had the fucking nerve to turn up to New York acting brand new, I tried of his ass and now I am angry at him “are you arguing with yourself?” Jen said, shaking my head in annoyance, I am annoyed “nothing” I just said “are you all going out tonight? I need the place to myself and don’t come back till late” Jen raised an eyebrow “Chris should be here, it’s about time we have that conversation, you know” Jen let out an oh “oh I see, ok I get it. I will make sure to clear the home then, wish I could be here. It’s always drama with you both” I sniggered; she is right.

Mel waved me over “I don’t want to move though” I whined out “please” she eye balled me, she has been missing for a while now so let me see what is up “I will be back mom” getting up from the couch, making my way to Mel “I am just tired” Mel announced, she is tired but yet she caused her own mess because I said for her to not invite him “I guess it’s not working out huh” we went into the spare living room “well” Mel dragged out, sitting down on the couch and watching Mel. She looks so sad right now, I think Chris may have annoyed her “so, I messaged him. I said to come to the home we are in currently. Robyn needs to speak to you. He messaged back pretty quick and he said we are playing a games, we wanted to shame him in front of every one, this was all a ploy to make him look a fool. He said he can’t believe that you are having a baby by a bitch ass nigga, he doesn’t want to see you. That you used him, you are foul, I am foul. We are bad people for him. I then said, it’s not how you think it was, she can explain but you need to come here, he said no. Robyn is playing a game and he is done, he doesn’t want to see you, and at this point I am annoyed so I said, you don’t want to see her pregnant and happy? You want her to be bitter or something. He messaged back saying don’t get involved Mel, Robyn is a bitch. So yeah, that happened” he is so fucking lost, he is so fucked in the mind that he likes to hear himself “the only bitch ass nigga is him, I am not going to chase him about this. If he don’t want to care and play ball with the fact I want to see him then I am done, I will message him myself, but if he doesn’t then so be it” unlocking my phone “he may change his attitude if you do it, he think we played a game and now he’s hurt you’re pregnant by what I assume Drake” I will try this with him but I hate that I am having to do this through Instagram, tapping on his name to message him ‘I really need to speak to you, I think you will regret this moment if you don’t. Leave your ego at the door and listen to me when I say this, you either come tonight or you don’t’ pressing send on the message.

Chris and I have been going back and forth on messages, like I am doing this with him through Instagram. Reading his last message ‘You are just jealous that I am not sprung on you so STOP acting like I am! Now you want me to come there to fuck with me’ he is still stuck on the tiresome conversation “I am losing the will to live” I said to myself as I typed back to him ‘Nigga, you are so fucking sprung on me that is why you are fucking crying in my messages about one night! I am not answering any messages to you any more, you either come or don’t!!!!!’ pressing send, I am fucking annoyed. He is being so butt hurt and also vile that I left him hung, I am just not going to continue this over messages “you think you can handle him if he does come?” Mel asked, good question “there will be an argument before we even speak properly. I will be ok, he is the biggest stress I got right now” it will be interesting to see if he does arrive but knowing him he will come, I believe he will anyways.

[politicaltheatre]

The Competition

Donald Trump just made history. On the face of it, it would appear to be the good kind for a change. Of course, in politics taking things at face value is never a good idea.

Time will tell whether Trump's footsteps into North Korea prove to be the first in a journey to end decades of war, hot then cold, and suffering in the Korean peninsula or just a momentary distraction from the Democratic debates a few days ago.

Odds are, Trump got played, again, by North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un. With that first step Trump legitimized the totalitarian North Korean regime without getting a single concession beyond the flattering of his ego.

Yes, the Kim family has ruled North Korea for over 70 years and needs no actually international recognition to make that a fact, but their treatment of their own people, of their South Korean cousins, and their increasing nuclear threats to the rest of the world have attained legitimacy.

That's some kind of achievement, one that no United States president since the 1953 cease fire has been willing to offer. Some have called Trump's succession of tactics "bold", but the only way anyone but Kim Jong-Un gets something out of this is if Kim Jong-Un stops acting like a self-important, authoritarian dictator and makes a legitimate concession of his own.

That won't be the only concession Trump made that won't last the flight home as good news. The deal he made with China to ease tariffs in general and limits on the technology company Huawei in particular generated a speculative bump on the stock market, but don't be shocked if the profit-taking begins as early as this week as the reality of what he gave away and to whom sets in.

Huawei, as we all know, has been accused of aiding China in its data gathering and espionage. Even if that were not to be true, it's exceedingly hard to prove a negative where espionage is concerned, and heading into another election cycle Trump has just hung that risk around the neck of every congressional Republican. Even normally submissive members of his own party have criticized it.

Well, it least it was a good day for the Trump fam-…What's that? Junior retweeted a racist, birther-ist attack on California Senator Kamala Harris? Apples, trees, we all saw this one coming.

The immediate why is just as obvious. Harris scored some serious points in the Democratic debate Thursday night, including but not limited to her demolition of front runner Joe Biden. In the politics as bloodsport coverage so attractive to our short attention span world, Harris excelled, and in doing so has opened the floodgates for her competitors to take Biden down for good before the first ballots are even cast.

Her takedown was made easier by fellow senator Cory Booker's earlier attacks on Biden's compliments of openly racist former senators (and, of course, Biden himself for saying it), and it all certainly made the later line of attack on Biden's 2002 Iraq War vote easier to land and more successful. In doing so, Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg, and others helped themselves but also reinforced her attack, giving her the greatest momentum coming out of the debates.

Which is why Donald Trump Jr. and other right wing attack dogs took it upon themselves to launch attacks on Harris, using what can't even be described as a dog whistle anymore. Suggesting that someone of a darker complexion wasn't born in the United States is nothing but racist, plain and simple, as is the naked appeal to other racists. We can thank Donald Trump Sr. for that. He brought that particular brand of racism mainstream.

That all of Harris’ Democratic competition, including Joe Biden, quickly condemned Trump Jr.’s racism for what it was speaks very well of them. That we are so cynical in our politics that we are capable of seeing that condemnation as a necessary political tactic speaks ill of us, however much it speaks well of a party that believes that outrage over racism is necessary. 

That cynicism isn’t anything new, not to politics. We rightly doubt a dictator’s sincerity when he promises to compromise. We rightly doubt apologies that include an excuse. And we rightly doubt anyone running for office who offers easy answers to difficult problems. 

Or, we should.

The right wing sees everything as competition, a contest in which there can ever be only one winner. This underscores their view of accountability: I am accountable to no one, but everyone must be accountable to me. In that context, racism is simply a means to an end, an exploitation of a weakness - in this case, skin color that renders the opponent different - to undermine the opponent.

This is no different than gerrymandering election districts to maintain disproportionate representation or attacking US soccer star Megan Rapinoe for being lesbian. In the pursuit of acquiring and maintaining power, the right wing sees these as acceptable tactics. To see the world this way, all is fair - in love, war, politics, economics - because all is war.

The pity of it is that this is exactly why debates are a good thing. A debate tests candidates in ways they aren't tested the rest of a campaign. They're literally under the lights, exposed, vulnerable. They are at the mercy of competitors and moderators who will throw even the best prepared off balance, intentionally or unintentionally.

Only a true sociopath actually thrives in those conditions, so trusting authenticity in this situation isn't going to lead to any truth, it's just going to tell you who's good at appearing authentic. The trick is that someone who does not want to lie will appear inauthentic, which is not the same as "canned". Not wanting to lie, they feel shame, which is an ability you actually want in a leader. This, again, is why taking things at face value is a mistake.

Most answers, like the questions from the moderators and interjections from candidates supposed to be waiting their turn, are largely canned. Understanding that is a little useful. If the canned answers are coherent, we know that the candidate knows how to prepare; if not, we should reasonably doubt whether or not that person can handle the rigors of heading a government armed with nuclear weapons.

If the candidate chooses not to answer the question, that's even more useful. It's there that we should be asking questions: Did they have an answer? If so, was it going to be a bad one? Did they pivot to give another canned answer for an entirely different question? If so, was it because they didn't get a chance to answer it when it was first asked or because they just didn't have an answer?

Maybe they just thought it was a stupid question. Bernie Sanders, in what may have been his most Bernie Sanders moment of the entire debate, actually called out NBC's Chuck Todd for asking a stupid question. It was one of Todd's "one word answer" questions, in this case on the greatest existential threat to the United States. Sanders lives in a complicated world, one in which threats are many and often connected, such as income inequality and healthcare, which are also connected to pollution and through it climate change.

Sanders rightly called out the stupidity of "one word answer" questions. They help the audience in the sense of gauging the preparedness and focus of the candidates, but they do nothing for understanding what those candidates would do once in office, let alone the complexities of the threats, how they relate to each other, and what the average voter might do to help end that threat.

Debates, like photo ops at the G20 summit and the Korean DMZ, end up being about short term gains. That's as true for the networks hosting them as anything. We can criticize Chuck Todd for asking stupid questions or talking too much, but he wasn't alone.

All four of his co-moderators we just as guilty, each of them asking shallow questions looking for shallow answers, and at least one of them, Lester Holt, attempting to shut candidates up when they tried to give the answers they wanted (basically, Marianne Williamson every time she tried to speak).

Did it feel like the candidates with higher polling numbers coming in were asked more questions and given more time to answer? Well, yes, you're right. Every time one of the moderators warned that not everyone would get to answer every question, they meant not everyone not standing center stage.

Critics may have complained about New Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand hijacking speaking opportunities as rude and off-putting, but they understood that meekly waiting to be called upon (Washington Governor Jay Inslee) or whining about not being called upon (Maryland Representative John Delaney).

Their tactic of interruption and interjection meant that both de Blasio and Gillibrand got press and gave voters an idea of what their positions are, likely extending their campaigns into the autumn. Neither the Inslee nor Delaney campaigns will likely last long enough to see the leaves turn.

We shouldn't give NBC or their moderators too much credit for what their choices in questioning revealed about these low-polling candidates. Their choices had far more to do with their own competition, the one for ratings that drives all of their decision making. 

Their competitors - CBS, ABC, CNN, Fox News, Twitter - mean a lot more to them than edifying potential voters about all of the candidates. They believe their audience wants to see and hear from the front runners - note the placement of the candidates on the stage - and have placed their thumb on the scales to make that happen. It's not exactly democratic, is it?

So, debates reveal even more than we might think. They reveal all of the flaws in our democracy, all of the flaws we should notice and could if only we would look past the spectacle and the bloodletting.

Look past shallow, self-serving questions and answers and you may just end up with a president ashamed of telling lies, capable of not dictating foreign policy by ego, and then reaping in the long term rewards of what such a president can and will do, such as appointing Supreme Court justices who will recognize gerrymandering as a violation of at least two constitutional amendments.

To achieve this, we must fight and defeat our own worst, competing impulses. We must ask questions and keep asking questions. We must not be satisfied with canned answers, ones that are just good enough to allow us to stop asking questions. We must ask why a moderator would ever shut up a candidate giving an honest answer. And, most importantly, we must ask what qualities and abilities we actually want in a president.

Ask more questions, get more answers. Politics really isn't so complicated. 

- Daniel Ward