Columnist David MartinI'm kidding, of course. There's no way anyone anywhere in America could not know about the Republican presidential front-runner. He's a media storm larger than the Ebola virus, the European refugee crisis and Obama's recent Cuban misadventures combined.
Everywhere one turns, it's Trump, Trump, Trump. Cable news interviews here, Facebook posts there. I can't even watch my beloved March Madness without having to listen to basketball commentators talk about Trump (thanks, Charles Barkley).
And then there are folks like me, who are trying to make sense of all the insanity his candidacy has unleashed from sea to shining sea.
But I'm stopping. I'm done with The Donald.
No, not because I've finally had enough of him. I reached that point months ago. It's that there are so many other very important things happening that deserve heightened attention. While our eyes have been glued to the slow, yet very noisy trainwreck that is Republican national politics, many of us have neglected to concentrate on issues that warrant additional scrutiny.
For example, which deserves more dinner table discussion or type space, the fact that area leaders are engaged in a battle royale over Mayor Andy Berke's beleaguered Violence Reduction Initiative, or that Donald Trump is now attempting to drag Heidi Cruz's name through the mud as a way to smear her husband, Ted?
In the reality television world that is 2016, the latter attracts the lion's share of word count and social media conversations. Come to my neck of the woods (Brainerd), though, where broad day shootouts are becoming the norm, and you'll quickly realize that Heidi Cruz isn't all that significant. The dire need to curb gang violence should pull rank over presidential Twitter fights, but sadly it doesn't.
Equally depressing is the fact that most Tennesseans are more familiar with the dimensions of Trump's hands than they are with any single piece of legislation being discussed in Nashville. Trump's glove size has absolutely zero impact on the daily lives of anyone in the Volunteer State. But you know what does? De-annexation, background checks on guns, rural economic development, the ongoing battle over Insure Tennessee or any other matter being haggled over in the hallways and offices of the state capitol.
I'm sorry. I truly am.
I'm sorry I've gotten suckered into the media Bermuda Triangle that is Donald Trump. He doesn't deserve the time, and readers should be presented with deeper thoughts on a wider range of topics than the Trump clown show.
One of my most common critiques of Trump is that there is very little depth - not to mention consistency - to any of his policy positions. On immigration, build a wall. On trade, impose import tariffs. On terrorism, bring back waterboarding and commit war crimes. Ask for more details, and he typically pivots to bragging about how well he's doing in "the polls."
I can't throw stones, though. Because by taking the road most traveled, writing so much about you know who, I've also slipped into shallow waters. It's been easy to write about him. I haven't challenged myself as often as I should, and I haven't given readers much in return.
Others can write Trump-specific pieces all they want, but now through November I'm committing myself to more substantial things.
Later, Don.
Contact David Allen Martin at davidallenmartin423@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @DMart423.