Political Winds...Future Tidings

The political winds are blowing strong again with another election about a month away. In future fiction writing pursuits, authors often leverage the trends and personalities of today in their writing as they imagine future scenarios of socio-politics. There are three examples of this in Darwin's Orphans: the question of how far can the ever-advancing media take political spin? A look at political figures as new ones emerge and the state of public forums whether collegiate, debates or presidential addresses.

Political spin gets lots of attention since it is posited as the key to making a big social change by the mentor character Francisco. (The chapter in Darwin's Orphans with the program "Spinning out of Control" focuses on this aspect.) With the emergence over the past decades of online news sources (whether well-informed or not) and satellite/cable news networks specializing in every niche imaginable (music, sports, finances and, well....politics) -- it's interesting to consider how far spin could advance. With the increasing interactive component of media, will there be a broader base of public opinion? Hard to say...feel free to share your opinion on the subject.

With regard to political figures, there are a couple of interesting archetypes: the entertainer-turned-president for one. In Darwin's Orphans, the pop star Bobby Joe Peak becomes president. Like Ronald Reagan, he is reluctant at first and did not set out to be president. His popularity makes him a likely candidate, however, and events sweep him into politics. A second archetype is the rise-to-the-top figure whose integrity and hard work get him/her into a powerful position. The character in the book: Hakim Mbeke takes ascendant steps that are similar to those of Barak Obama. His personality and moves, however, are only lightly touched upon and were actually based on non-political people that I've known. Another fascinating subject to watch in our future: what will be the next trend? CEOs running for president?

Finally, the public forum: how will political debates play out in future media? What is the next mode for college idealists to reach the public? Will the president keep wearing those same suits to eternity and will they find a more personal way to reach the people beyond the pulpit? Personally, when I consider the former point, I wonder why Steve Jobs can wear his blue jeans and black mock-turleneck when he addresses the public yet politicians don't branch out? Is there a study that shows that a politician will lose credibility if they dress down a bit? CEOs dress down...don't they lose credibility when they do? Apparently not...Jobs is still at the helm and continues to garner great respect. These are the kinds of things that come to mind to explore in future fiction. On the other questions above, I explore them in Darwin's Orphans and continue to mull them over.

As far as what's going to happen next?...what trends are taking hold?...we'll get our next big indicators this November. I'll be watching and commenting. Hopefully, you'll do the same.