MISSOURI WATCH: HOO-YAH TO YAHOO IN ONE GENERATION

Unless Missourians exercise extreme caution they could, perhaps all too soon, elect a governor and other public officials with the same limitations as the newly inaugurated chief executive of Minnesota. Although this prediction may fall wide of the mark, the conditions that brought about the election of an ill-equipped professional wrestler in the Land of 10,000 Lakes are ripe for installing more Jesse (The Body) Venturas in highly important, critical public posts throughout the U.S.

There are several reasons for this unfortunate demise of responsible democracy in our country, although there has been virtually no recognition of this internal enemy and its consequences for our Republic. Only a handful of political scientists, historians and legal experts have addressed the subject, but at least two books, one of them by an influential educator, have now taken notice and are addressing the subject.

Please do not assume that these observations have anything to do with a knee-jerk disapproval of Governor Ventura and his one-time profession, other than note that the qualifications to lead a state of 4.7 million citizens and become a leading player in staged wrestling contests are not the same. As a libertarian candidate, Ventura spouted traditional leave-me-alone philosophy that has been the mantra of anti-government society in America since colonial times.

Ventura's election is not a strict Minnesota aberration but rather a clear signal of what has been building in U.S. politics and government for years, but which has recently been subjected to numerous events that have served to heighten the transmogrification.

Dr. Neal Gabler, author of two important books on American culture, has just written a new work entitled Life The Move: How Entertainment Conquered Reality. Gabler's explanation for the changes that have been occurring in the nation's capital and state capitols in recent years is a reasonable one: entertainment has become the most powerful force in modern American society, overshadowing previously powerful forces such as religion, moral and political integrity and business and commerce. He notes, "It is not any `ism' but entertainment that is arguably the most pervasive, powerful and ineluctable force of our time -- a force so overwhelming that it has finally metastasized into life."

Today's devices of entertainment are articulated by two sources: movies and television, and in neither medium is there an effort to stimulate worthwhile individual or collective achievement or advancement. The brains of consumers are bombarded not with mental and moral enlightenment but on the unquestionably too-human desire for diversion and stimulation. The more violent, the more salacious, the more outrageous the products, the more the demand from consumers for greater heights.

As Dr. Gabler notes, "At the moment, television expects Washington politicians to star in an elaborate film noir of corruption and/or sex. And so they do."

Even if the public is unwilling to accept in full measure the author's pessimistic conclusion, many have already validated his summation by expressing personal contempt for the excesses of Hollywood, Washington and even Jefferson City.

Indeed, it is even possible that Minnesotans elected Ventura not because they agreed with his dubious approach to governance but to display their contempt for the conditions which many view as harmful to the future of our society and next generations. At the close of his inaugural address, the newly elected chief executive in St. Paul emitted a loud shout ("Hoo-yah") which is the battle cry of the U.S. Navy SEALS section. That Ventura may have shouted the words of men about to risk their lives as a prescient signal of real reform is perhaps giving him more intellectual credit than he merits. Only time will tell whether the man who has evidenced no coherent understanding of his state's $20 billion budget can overcome his lack of serious scholarship of government. In recent history Missouri endured one governor who had neither the knowledge of government finance nor the will of dedication to focus on critical budget details -- and the state paid a heavy price for his indifference.

The legacy of the incumbent Clinton administration will not depend on whether he lied under oath or committed perjury -- which are characteristics of far too many elected officials in Washington -- but on his pejorative push toward even lower standards of conduct adopted by our chosen delegates and leaders. The stout defense given a self-absorbed, morally flawed president by most of the members of his party is troubling evidence that such conduct will be condoned and pardoned by members of both parties in the future. The legal excuses offered for Mr. Clinton's conduct will be used by presidents, congressmen, governors and legislators for decades.

The public demand for more and more entertainment in our American system of government will lower the performance standards to those set by Hollywood and television, with little or not public recognition of the difference. We have already witnessed movies that telegraphed later manipulation and machination in Washington and the end is hardly in sight.

If reality has been lost in Minnesota and the District of Columbia, as many now honestly believe, the real challenge of the new millennium is not how to correct computer errors but how to overcome the yahoo culture that is so pervasive in America today. In the meantime are left with nothing of value or relevance as today's entertainment industries continue to titillate their audiences with sexual escapades while debating whether America's First Lady is Hillary or Monica.

After all, the show must go on!

Jack Stapleton of Kennett if the editor of Missouri News and Editorial Service.