I believe that if anyone truly loves democracy, you have to respect the hard parts.
That means listening to constructive criticism from the free press or anyone else for that matter so long as the criticism is valid.
One can hide from this in a bubble because it's emotionally upsetting to hear your political leader or issues criticized but if too many Democrats do that, it becomes the Republican Party.
The Republican Party has literally become a cult devoted to one person, but that didn't happen over night. Some of them used to be respectable even if you disagreed with them, but over time their tolerance for truth greatly diminished to where it literally didn't mean anything anymore.
As for the corporate media, I tune in to all of them except FOX, but I try to always be aware of where they're coming from as corporate conglomerates and that isn't democracy, but authoritarian owned capitalism; which is their bread and butter. This is why the corporate media focuses the lion's share of their precious air time for months if not years in advance of an election on worthless polls instead of critical issues of substance affecting the American people and world at large.
That tactic only turns supporting and governing an efficient, quality government that serves the people of the United States into a non-ending soap opera or made for T.V. sitcom, and the corporate media have known since at least the early 1970s that people can be basely attracted to an antagonist or out right villain. The people can be influenced to overlook the better angels of their natures if the show, antagonist, or outright villain is entertaining.
From All in the Family to Yellowstone as just a small sample of programming the American people over the decades. Keep in mind that you're mildly hypnotized while viewing T.V. that's why sometimes people in the same room may have to yell at you to get your attention.
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All in the Family has been ranked as one of the best American television series.[7] The show became the most watched show in the United States during the summer reruns of the first season,[8] and topped the yearly Nielsen ratings from 1971 to 1976,[9] the first television series to have held the position for five consecutive years. The episode "Sammy's Visit" was ranked number 13 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time.[10] TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time ranked All in the Family as number four. Bravo also named the show's protagonist, Archie Bunker, TV's greatest character of all time.[11] In 2013, the Writers Guild of America ranked All in the Family the fourth-best written TV series[12] In 2023, Variety ranked All in the Family #16 on its list of the 100 greatest TV shows.[13]
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_in_the_Family
to Dallas
Dallas was an American prime time soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1978, to May 3, 1991. The series revolved around an affluent and feuding Texas family, the Ewings, who owned the independent oil company Ewing Oil and the cattle-ranching land of Southfork. The series originally focused on the marriage of Bobby Ewing and Pam Ewing, whose families were sworn enemies. As the series progressed, Bobby's elder brother, oil tycoon J. R. Ewing, became the show's breakout character, whose schemes and dirty business became the show's trademark.[1] When the show ended on May 3, 1991, J. R. was the only character to have appeared in every episode.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas_(1978_TV_series)
Family Ties
Much of the humor of the series focuses on the cultural divide during the 1980s when younger generations rejected the counterculture of the 1960s and embraced the materialism and conservative politics which came to define the 1980s.[5] Alex, the eldest, is a Young Republican who embraces Reaganomics and exhibits conservative attitudes. In contrast to her feminist mother, Mallory is an apolitical and materialistic young woman[2] presented as a vacuous airhead, fodder for jokes and teasing from her brother. Jennifer, an athletic tomboy and the second-youngest child, shares more of the values of her parents and just wants to be a normal kid. Steven and Elyse have a fourth child, Andrew, who is born in early 1985. Alex dotes on his young brother and molds Andy in his conservative image.
Regarding the concept, show creator Goldberg observed, "It really was just an observation of what was going on in my own life with my own friends. We were these old kind of radical people and all of a sudden you're in the mainstream ... but now you've got these kids and you've empowered them, and they're super intelligent, and they're definitely to the right of where you are. They don't understand what's wrong with having money and moving forward."[6] A recurring theme involved Alex hatching a scheme involving some amount of greedy money-making, which led to a humorous misadventure and ended with Alex being forced to apologize for his choices. According to Goldberg, "We actually had this structure that we'd inherited from Jim Brooks and Allan [Burns], which was six scenes and a tag ... And then the last scene became Alex apologizes, in every show, we just left it up. Alex apologizes. Some version of it."[7] Nevertheless, Fox's portrayal of a likable Alex proved to be an important part of the show's success. Goldberg again stated, "With Alex, I did not think I was creating a sympathetic character. Those were not traits that I aspired to and didn't want my kids to aspire to, actually ... But at the end of Family Ties, when we went off the air, then The New York Times had done a piece and they said, 'Greed with the face of an angel.' And I think that's true ... [Michael J. Fox] would make things work, and the audience would simply not access the darker side of what he's actually saying."[6]
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_Ties
to Breaking Bad
Breaking Bad's first season received generally positive reviews, while the subsequent seasons received unanimous critical acclaim, with praise for the performances, direction, cinematography, writing, story, and character development. Since its conclusion, the show has been lauded by critics as one of the greatest television series of all time. It has also developed a cult following.[7] The show had fair viewership in its first three seasons, but the fourth and fifth seasons saw a moderate rise in viewership when it was made available on Netflix just before the fourth season premiere. Viewership increased exponentially upon the premiere of the second half of the fifth season in 2013. By the time that the series finale aired, it was among the most-watched cable shows on American television.
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Breaking Bad follows Walter White, a struggling, frustrated high school chemistry teacher from Albuquerque, New Mexico who becomes a crime lord in the local methamphetamine drug trade, driven to provide for his family financially after being diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. Initially making only small batches of meth with his former student Jesse Pinkman in a rolling meth lab, Walter and Jesse eventually expand to make larger batches of an extremely pure, blue meth which creates high demand. Walter takes on the name "Heisenberg" to mask his identity. Because of his new business, Walter finds himself at odds with his family, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) through his brother-in-law Hank Schrader, the local gangs and the Mexican drug cartels (including their regional distributors), putting him and his family's lives at risk. The events of the series take place between 2008 and 2010.[9]
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_Bad
Yellowstone
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The series follows the Dutton family, owners of the largest ranch in Montana, the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch, commonly called "the Yellowstone". The plot revolves around family drama at the ranch and the bordering Broken Rock Indian Reservation, Yellowstone National Park, and developers.[5]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowstone_(American_TV_series)
The corporate media created and promoted *rump as well with "The Apprentice," he's their star and I just heard on CNN a clip of him proclaiming "we have a new star, a star is born, Elon!"
Never mind the growing societal dysfunction that three people in the U.S. now have as much wealth as the bottom half of the nation, that would be around 165 million Americans.
This all goes back to keeping the American people myopically focused on polls instead of the critical issues and policies of the day while turning political leaders trying to govern into actors seeking high poll (TV) ratings in the never ending drama that charlatans such as *rump excel in.
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