Gigi's Star

The child leaned her head back until it seemed she would fall over backwards, and in this exaggerated position pointed a soft, plump finger toward the dark sky above. "Star", she exclaimed with a joy that still comes when thought becomes word. "Gigi star!", she followed. The previously named North star had until then been the property of no one. The light from downtown spread before us across the narrow inlet and rose into the darkness above, drowning out all but this brightest of distant fireballs. "Gigi, yes that's a star my love, but that's the North star". The girl stood transfixed by the overhead sparkle. "Gigi star!" Her mother found herself on the verge of continuing the argument, but thought better of it and hastily relented. "Ok, Ok, it's Gigi's star". Gigi looked at her mother fully proud of herself and returning her gaze to the star repeated, "Gigi star!"
So goes the path of political discussion as of late. The unrelenting battle to control the narrative and language of debate by claiming ownership of that which belongs to no one. This detail does not stop politicians from demanding insistently the right to these claims and they do so armed with enough vitriol to intimidate the media into acquiescence. So instead of taking spin doctors to task on claims based on false premises, the media relent and go on to discuss the impact of a conspired reality on our continued political drama.