It is one of the more humorous phrases in the English language. Seems in Great Britain there are all kinds of signs on their subways to “mind the gap”. Of course, they are talking about the space between the sidewalk and the train. However, when I hear that phrase something a lot more sinister comes to mind. In the political science world gaps become a lot more interesting. This is particularly true when evaluating the past. At least then we aren’t in any danger.

I'm sorry, Texas but…

You re-elected Greg Abbott…and you thought somehow things would change?

You RE-ELECTED GREG ABBOTT and thought that mass shootings would magically go away?

You had a chance to do something…

BUT YOU RE-ELECTED GREG ABBOTT.

And it wasn't even close.

— Malcolm P. Johnson (@admiralmpj) May 7, 2023

Of course, the implication here is that Texans are getting what they want. Elections have consequences and we are obviously living through these times. I get the sentiment here and it obviously rings true when we look at the world from 30,000 feet. However, when we start magnifying the situation we see some cracks in that veneer. For one, we know that this is a singular issue and people obviously don’t vote with this issue in mind on election day. For another, we know that the Texas Democratic party is a mess and can’t seem to get out of their own way when it comes to winning statewide office.

As electrifying as Beto O’Rourke was and can still be, he seems to have “foot in mouth” disease when it comes to his position on things. There are a lot of progressives in Texas, but Texas just isn’t a progressive state and you aren’t going to win statewide office spouting views that most Texans find to be extreme. I can decry that and lament that fact, but wringing my hands over this point isn’t going to win any elections.

Politics used to be a lot simpler. People used to acknowledge reality. We got our news from one of the three major networks and from the local newspaper. We often felt differently about particular events and particular issues, but we all acknowledged that they happened and that they existed. We could all agree on a commonly agreed upon set of facts. We interpreted these facts differently and gave them different priorities, but we were a lot closer on these things. If you want to conduct an experiment then spend five or six hours watching MSNBC or CNN and then spend the next day watching Fox News, Newsmax, or OAN. It would be one thing if we heard a different perspective on the important stories of the day. After the experiment you would be convinced that these were either two different countries or two different times.

Far be it from me to identify reality through the noise. Maybe part of the problem is just naturally assuming we know what is right or wrong. That being said, we can see that both of those use fear in a way to reach their audience. One may focus on Hunter Biden and his laptop while another may focus on the former president and his many crimes. Yet, events like we have witnessed the past several weeks only gain significance when they are covered. If all I see is Hunter’s laptop then I am led to believe that Hunter’s laptop is the main thing that matters. It makes perfect sense. After all, why would you talk about it all the time if it didn’t matter? So, the above is not really what people want. It is what people are told they should want. Eventually the gap between objective reality and manufactured reality become untenable. That’s usually when there is some sort of revolution. We can only hope it is the non-violent kind, but I seriously have my doubts.