Some decades ago, when network TV was still in its infancy, an “adult” western was introduced to a public familiar with the likes of Bill Hopalong Cassidy and the Lone Rancher. Children mainly watched these earlier renditions of the wild, wild West. But this new western, Gunsmoke, was very different. Its hero, Matt Dillon, was at least as brutal as the outlaws he brought down. While “Hoppy” was a gentlemanly cowboy, who took off his hat in the presence of a lady and drank a nonalcoholic sarsaparilla, Dillon treated women as chattel and downed shots with manly fervor. Both the Lone Rancher and “Hoppy” had sidekicks they trusted and respected. Dillon, however, was a tough guy who operated alone. His predecessors in the western genre rarely drew blood. But Dillon was ruthless and dispassionate: his success was based upon whom he killed or beat into bloody submission. Winning at any costs was what drove him. He made no apologies. His embodiment of this gunslinger archetype drew a wide audience. And Gunsmoke was one of the most successful TV series of all time. It spoke to an essentially American hero myth: the lone sheriff who would rid the town of bad guys, win every fight, and be the law, both unassailable and uncontested.

The spirit of Gunsmoke is still relevant to our politics where it can function as myth. To understand how, perhaps we should parse the show’s name into its metaphorical components, that is, “gun” and “smoke.” The former represents any weapon that can be used to defend against assailants or attack real or potential enemies. For example, if under investigation for criminal activity, the best political defense is to discredit the investigator—as a member of an opposing party, as an aggrieved person suffering from an alleged slight and seeking revenge, or as an otherwise conflicted person. If, instead, confronting a potential opponent, the best attack may be preemptive and unexpected, perhaps an ad hominem belittling of character, motive, or more perversely, personal traits such as speech, appearance and/or negative associations. Though Matt Dillion may be an archetypal hero, he is just a fictional character. But contemporary politicians can at times attempt to live this myth.

How, you may wonder, does a “gunslinging” politician win the votes of his/her constituents? Well, remember the “smoke.” In the television series, that smoke comes from the barrel of the gun after it has been fired. In our time, it comes from many after-the-fact sources, such as the cable news blowback, the befuddling wordsmith justification, or the misappropriated label or tagline. Our political landscape is filled with the smoke of “fake news,” “collusion delusion,” “complete exoneration,” “rigged polls,” “witch hunt,” “stable genius,” “fire and fury,” “lyin’ . . . crazy . . . sleepy . . . terrible people.” While the press and comedians are happy to expose the gunslinger behind all this smoke, some of us still suffer from smoke-caused blurred vision. The myth of the brutish gunslinger who always wins persists. Perhaps you would like to withdraw from this cloud of misperception. Maybe it is time to clear away the smoke and admit a simple truth: no American should want Matt Dillon as President, especially if a “Hoppy” candidate is available.

What has “gun” and “smoke” brought to Americans anyway? Let’s take a selective look:

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Bullet: Repeal the ACA (Obamacare).
Smoke: Reform healthcare with Trumpcare.
Reality: Some 20+ million Americans would lose healthcare; and Trumpcare is neither available for people with pre-existing conditions nor comparable in coverage (e.g., it is only offered in one to three month extensions and does not provide full coverage, eliminating amongst other care options preventive care, treatment for addiction, and women-specific health care).
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Bullet: Shutdown the Government to obtain funding for a border wall.
Smoke: Make America great by stopping the “invasion” of murders, rapists, and drug dealers.
Reality: The immigrants arriving on our southern border are mainly refugees and/or asylum seekers. They include many families escaping life-threatening conditions who risk border crossings regardless of impediments—many freely seeking out border patrol agents in order to request asylum.
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Bullet: Close the southern border by ordering the military to stop all immigration there.
Smoke: MAGA by stopping the invasion of murders, rapists, and drug dealers.
Reality: Using the military for this purpose is against the law. There is no military threat on the southern border.
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Bullet: Threats of wielding “fire and fury” against North Korea, or “end(ing) Iran.”
Smoke: These countries pose a current existential threat to America.
Reality: These countries could potentially pose a threat in the future – in the case of North Korea, sooner, rather than later. But eliminating the Iranian nuclear agreement pushes that nation in a more hostile direction. Likewise, pretending that failed summit meetings with North Korea have been beneficial does not encourage cooperation with Kim Jong Un. Instead, it encourages the North Korean leader to participate in the President’s one act play while continuing a buildup in his nuclear stockpile.
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Bullet: Use tariffs against Canada, Mexico, China, and Europe to bring economic gains to America.
Smoke: Previous trade agreements have been detrimental to the American economy, whereas tariffs create wealth and jobs for Americans. Besides, the President believes bilateral trade agreements outperform multi-country agreements – most especially because he believes himself to be a “great dealmaker” one-on-one.
Reality: First, replacing NAFTA with USMCA involves three countries and, therefore, is not bilateral. Likewise, renegotiating trade with the countries of Europe is only possible with the European Union, which is composed of many countries. Secondly, USMCA is identical to NAFTA, except for the inclusion of some measures that had already been negotiated by the previous Administration as part of the Transpacific Partnership – from which President Trump withdrew America. Third, tariffs effectively are taxes that the American people will pay as a result of the increased costs of foreign goods. Finally, there is no evidence that supports the President’s claim to be a “great dealmaker.” Stiffing suppliers and workers out of payment for goods and labor is not deal making. Nor is duping banks and insurance companies by misrepresenting assets to obtain loans or insurance reimbursement limits. Con men are not considered dealmakers, especially not by the FBI or the IRS. And, finally, how has the global trading system hurt America? That system was largely set up by America which nominates the director of the World Trade Organization and has won most of the cases brought before it. A large percentage of international corporations are American, securing for America the largest slice of the global market. NAFTA, in fact, is the most successful trading block of neighboring countries in the world, benefiting its signees almost equally in goods and jobs.
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There are simply too many bullets from this President’s gun to enumerate here. In fact, his rapid-fire ability overwhelms timely and/or perceptive accounting. He fires his seemly semi-automatic gun daily by tweets and impromptu incoherent press interviews. The smoke created appears too dense for the public to penetrate. It is a cloud of lies, distractions, misdirection, and criminality. To focus on one tweet or statement is to lose the bigger picture in a smoky haze. What remains is a simplistic imprint of reality characterized by a few words, like “no collusion, no obstruction, deep state, fake news, hateful people,” and so on. Matt Dillon did not have a semi-automatic or the need to hide evidence of broken or dead bodies. But our President has twitter and sycophants who attempt to clean up after him.

Matt Dillon, of course, was a fictional character. The success of Gunsmoke, however, was based on more than his character and story. Dillon became the hero of a wild, wild west myth. As such, he is a part of the American psyche, which explains why Gunsmoke was a long running TV series. Until Americans wrestle with this myth and determine its relevance to our time, many of us will continue to support, admire, and vote for a man who embodies it. Is President Trump himself the law—the lone hero who can “drain the swamp” and protect the wellbeing of average Americans? Or does he bring the swamp with him by decreasing funding for social programs, nominating ethically challenged public officials, creating a bankrupt national ledger, and prefiguring America as an international pariah? He may well represent an even more dreadful portent—that of a dead albatross hanging from the bow of America’s ship of state.

If so, punishment may well await each one of us. To quote Samuel Taylor Coleridge in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, “Instead of the cross, the Albatross About my neck was hung.” Unfortunately for Americans, there will be no heavenly intervention to remove our albatross or abate our punishment. We must remove the dead albatross ourselves.