Razzle-dazzling ourselves

Give 'em the old razzle-dazzle Razzle-dazzle 'em Give 'em an act with lots of flash in it And the reaction will be passionate Give 'em the old hocus-pocus Bead and feather 'em How can they see with sequins in their eyes? —Chicago: The Musical

How do you explain the rise of Donald Trump? Look no further than the culture beast that is primarily responsible for the fundamental transformation of America, as President Obama once put it.

We have an education system that doesn't educate. Television spews out "reality shows" that have nothing to do with reality. Judges issue rulings that conform more to opinion polls than the Constitution.

The strangest behavior is trotted out as the next civil rights movement and anyone who says "no" is branded a bigot. Many fallen nations collapsed not from war but from moral rot.

We are consuming the intellectual equivalent of Pop-Tarts in a pop culture age, rather than food for the mind that produces sound reasoning and wise choices.

It should not surprise anyone that such self-focus has fueled the rise of Donald Trump as a presidential candidate.

On the other side of the political fence, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton feed into the entitlement mentality that the government exists to give you stuff and take care of you. Liberals have exploited race and class for political advantage, deepening the divide between whites and blacks (and increasingly Hispanics), as well as the three classes—poor, middle class, and wealthy.

This is the fallout from the “if it feels good do it,” looking out for No. 1, baby boom generation and especially their spoiled offspring who know little about sacrifice, personal responsibility, or nationalism.

Donald Trump's rise is fueled by emotion, anti-intellectualism, and the jettisoning of sober thought. Trump dispenses bromides with few details. Unlike Ronald Reagan, who spent two decades thinking and honing his positions, Trump is like floor wax—all shine, no depth.

Mitt Romney is right in much of what he recently said about Trump, but Trump's rejoinder is that he—and Sen. John McCain—lost elections against Barack Obama, elections Trump says Romney should have won. In other words, the elites have had their chance and now it's the people who believe they've been left out of the process who will decide the Republican nominee.

It's frightening that so many voters have decided on Trump. But for those who rail against him, who reject this reality TV star and man of questionable business success and moral failings, the indignation seems to be not only an indictment of the political establishment but of ourselves for paying too little attention to politics and government in between elections. We are to blame for Donald Trump's rise.

Politics should not be a part-time concern. If voters only pay attention in an election year, they get what they deserve. If the choice is between Trump and Clinton, we are in really bad shape.

As John F. Kennedy put it during the 1960 campaign, "We can do better."

© 2016 Tribune Content Agency LLC.

Listen to Cal Thomas’ commentary on The World and Everything in It.