Circus Mastery

In a piece for Psychology Today, Gad Saad argues that "Glenn Beck and Keith Olbermann are two sides of the same coin," emphasizing the "banality of the entrenched positions" on both sides of the ideological divide characteristic of our duopoly politics. The latter can hardly be disputed. Anyone even vaguely familiar with the talking heads and disembodied voices that populate American television and radio could easily predict a given pundit's take on the issues of the day. Saad continues, "in my opinion, the "us-versus-them" cognitive trap is exacerbated by the two-party system in American politics." It may be the case, however, that the reverse is true. The two party system of itself does not heighten or intensify bi-polar political opposition, but rather constitutes it, providing the ideological edifice with its overarching form, while mainstream media supply the aggravating factor in the form of pundits, info-tainers and the various political circus-masters.