Game of Thrones (GOT) fans know winter has come.  If there was ever a question about the threat posed by the white walkers, any doubt was erased as they marched on the barrier which separated Winterfell and the other kingdoms from the peril beyond.

Similarly, a different kind of white walker has invaded the United States.  And just like the undead behind the wall in GOT, America’s white walkers have always been there.  But as long as they stayed on the other side of a virtual barrier we often ignored them and seldom confronted them.  But winter has come.  They are on the march emboldened by a failure in national leadership which chooses not to denounce what these neo-white walkers stand for.

How do we combat these invaders?  Despite its many flaws, television is the great equalizer.  Just as HBO’s presentation of George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Fire and Ice makes it possible for us to visually experience the horror awaiting the residents of the Seven Kingdoms, the same medium opened our eyes to real life tragedy and injustice.

Public support for the Vietnam War was overwhelming until Walter Cronkite brought pictures of the devastation and suffering into our living rooms.  White engagement in the civil rights movement was bolstered when black and white video of African-Americans being attacked by dogs and water cannons disgusted viewers of the nightly news programs.  The power of television even led to the one time the current White House occupant demonstrated a modicum of humanity.  Images of gassed children in Syria moved the otherwise unmovable.

Winter is coming to America.  It is going to snow.  But we can handle it.  So instead of worrying about how viewers might react to seeing white supremacists like Richard Spencer, let it snow.  Instead of wasting valuable air time with wall to wall coverage of daily White House briefings in which Sarah Huckabee Saunders either avoids responding to any substantive questions or provides alternative facts which contradict the public record, use that space to televise Richard Spencer speeches.

Don’t cover the protests.  Cover Spencer and his clones. Let Americans see for themselves what they profess.  Let the public see first-hand how individuals of Spencer’s ilk praise Trump as someone who understands them.  Make Trump voters confront the inconvenient truth they are aligned with individuals who share the views of those their parents and grandparents defeated during World War II.  This is no longer just about supporting Trump, it is about being a complicit member of a movement which violates every effort to fulfill Lincoln’s dream of “a more perfect union.”

Winter is coming.  If we hope to survive, everyone needs to pitch in.  The media need to let their viewers see in real time what some of their fellow Americans believe.  Anderson Cooper or Ira Melber need to attend these events and let these white supremacists spew their venom for everyone to hear.  The protesters need to let the Richard Spencers speak without being interrupted.  Their own words discredit them more than any signs or shout downs.  And members of the resistance need to encourage people to watch these broadcasts.   I assure you it will be disgusting.  But that’s the point.  MORE PEOPLE NEED TO BE DISGUSTED.  And some, as with increased support for the civil and gay rights movements or opposition to the war in Vietnam, will surely have a change of heart.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP