It may seem strange that I’m recommending TV shows to lawmakers.  It’s even stranger that these shows are not documentaries but fictional dramas.

The three shows are Dexter on Showtime, Medium and Heroes, both on NBC.  The writers, producers, and actors of these three shows have captured a theme that is currently resonating with Americans.  The theme is: how do ordinary people with extraordinary powers help and not hurt mankind.   

That’s part of the message voters sent to lawmakers in the midterm elections.  Voters are saying, “We have given you incredible power from the greatest nation on earth.  Use those powers to help people and not line your pockets.  If you squander that responsibility, like the last bunch of lawmakers, then you will be stripped of that power.”

That fictional quote I dreamed up makes the American electorate seem like gods in the Greek or Roman tradition.  Some might say that is our (my) arrogance.  However, I think it is more American self-awareness.  We realize we have profound effect on the rest of the world, sometimes not necessarily for good.  For instance, some say our coup in Iran in the 1950s to maintain a stable supply of oil cultivated a century-long nemesis of Muslim extremists, which today takes center stage in Iraq. 

As a result, these TV shows and their characters help Americans grapple with their role as powerful mortals – with a conscience.  These shows do no speak directly to lawmakers.  After all, lawmakers can walk away from their jobs in public office.  But collectively, America can’t walk away from being the world’s super power and beacon of freedom.  We’re stuck with that role and its corresponding powers -- as are the characters in these three TV shows.

In fairness, I have not seen much of Heroes, not because of content but time constraints.  So I base my theory on the show’s outstanding first year ratings.  However, thanks to my wife, I have seen most episodes of Medium, so here I speak from experience.  And thanks to my writing partner on fictional works, Eric Snyder, I am now an avid viewer of Dexter.  Eric thinks it is close to being the best drama on TV today.  After three episodes, I can’t disagree.  (Ironically, Josh Marshall (www.talkingpointsmemo.com) echoed similar praise in one of his recent blogs, a rare departure from his political observations.)

Of all the shows, Dexter resonates most with me.  (Some disclosure here: I like dark and slightly comedic when it comes to my dramas.)  There is nothing like Dexter.  The main character, Dexter, is a police blood spatter expert who is also a serial killer.  This premise feeds our recurring notion heard in sound bites from a neighbor saying, “He didn’t seem like a murderer.”  Dexter skirts justice because his father, understanding his son’s morose tendencies at a young age, helped channel the psychosis into good.  (Yes, it speaks to the problem of so many fatherless children in America.)  So, Dexter only kills those who need to be killed.  This creates dilemmas since Dexter grants life to suspected killers who killed for good reason – such as avenging a rape.  Dexter’s nemesis, though, is another serial killer who apparently knows Dexter’s secret; that is Dexter’s kryptonite.  

On the surface, this story line seems outside the realm of our sense of justice.  But the writers of the show give Dexter a strong conscience, so, like Macbeth comprised of good and evil, we actually sympathize with Dexter.  After all, how many of us don’t have skeletons.  How many of us don’t think in this Dr. Phil world that we don’t have some behavioral aberration.  Many of us, myself included, have verbally acted like a lunatic at the steering wheel when someone cuts us off on the highway, angrily rationalizing that if we could get that psycho off the streets we would be helping our community.  Dexter feels the same way except in a more dramatically pleasing way.  (No, this show is not for kids.)

How does all this relate to politicians?  I recommend politicians watch these shows as an addition to polling constituents.  These shows give us a deeper glimpse of how we see ourselves and our lawmakers.  We see politicians as weak-willed every day folks who fall for corruption whenever tempted.  We are yearning for that lawmaker to either change themselves or change the system.  For instance, we want a lawmaker who won’t take money from special interests and will vote the will of the people.  We want a politician to study and grapple with difficult issues and not cave into a simplistic solution. 

In short, we Americans, in this Information Age, understand that the bad decisions of lawmakers can kill us – because we have given them one of the greatest powers on earth, representing us.  And that power can be used for both good and evil.

Copyright © John Daly:. Used with permission.