Dear Aaron Sorkin — Did you Forget what a Greater Fool is?
“The greater fool is actually an economic term. It’s a patsy. For the rest of us to profit, we need a greater fool — someone who will buy long and sell short. Most people spend their life trying not to be the greater fool; we toss him the hot potato, we dive for his seat when the music stops. The greater fool is someone with the perfect blend of self-delusion and ego to think that he can succeed where others have failed. This whole country was made by greater fools.”
Without risk, there can be no progress. Without a few people willing to put it all on the line, America as we know it would not exist. This grand experiment would have been a failed science project. Aaron Sorkin conceptualized that the greater fool from a purely economic argument into a deeply admirable character virtue.
In his hit HBO show, “The Newsroom,” the Greater Fool represents the people Sorkin wants us all to be; with the kind of character the staff of ACN strives to attain as they put together a news show, centered upon integrity. The greater fool speaks up when no one else does, she fights for the story that fails to garner attention, and most of all; she displays unbridled courage to push boundaries. She may not always be likable, but appeasing her dissenters is not her cause du jour — striving for change is.
Today, the Democratic freshman class of U.S. Representatives is full of Greater Fools. Lucy McBath, a former flight attendant, decided to run for Congress as a gun-control rights activist following her son’s death in 2012. Harley Rouda, with no political resume, had the audacity to take on 30-year incumbent Dana Rohrabacher in deeply red Orange County — and win. Sharice David made history by becoming the country’s first openly gay and Native American Congresswoman, having been raised by a single mother Drill-Sergeant in the Army. These individuals are just a snapshot of the courage and passion for public service prevalent in the freshman class. By all accounts, these leaders fit the mold of Sorkin’s Greater Fool.
But in an interview on Monday with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, Mr. Sorkin seemed to forget the type of leadership he spent three seasons developing and celebrating.
“I really like the new crop of young people who were just elected to Congress,” he started. “They now need to stop acting like young, people, OK? It’s time to do that. I think there’s a great opportunity here, now more than ever, for Democrats to be the non-stupid party. To point out the difference, that it’s not just about transgender bathrooms. That’s a Republican talking point they’re trying to distract you with. That we haven’t forgotten the economic anxiety of the middle class, but we’re going to be smart about this. We’re not going to be mean about it.”
And with that single monologue, Sorkin shattered everything The Newsroom represents — and revealed a fearful attitude, something rare for the usual boundary pushing director. He attempted to use being a grown-up as a substitute for intelligence and genuine passion, having never actually served in political office — yet speaking directly to members of Congress as if he had. He expressed ageism, advancing the notion that youthfulness correlates to inexperience and naïveté. And he expressed a fear of tackling policy victories that may be contentious and hard-won, but pivotal to progress.
As a still dedicated Newsroom fan, Sorkin’s comments are disappointing, especially when the Season One finale uses a young journalist as his pivotal example of a greater fool.
In a famous moment from The Newsroom, lead character and ACN anchor Will McAvoy walks into a conference room and is perturbed by the young woman sitting at the table. He can’t remember where he recognizes her from, until it hits him like a train. “SORORITY GIRL,” Will screams at Northwestern graduate Jenna Johnson.
Jenna stands her ground, knowing this rebuke was inevitable. Just a few months prior in the show’s pilot, Jenna sheepishly asked Will and a panel of journalists, “Can you say why America is the greatest country in the world?”
Will’s answer (or rather: unhinged tirade) sparked not only Jenna’s own national embarrassment, but a questioning of Will’s legitimacy as an anchor. But as any Newsroom fan knows, this simple question also changed Will’s trajectory back to a career he was proud of, and one that prioritized truth over ratings.
Shocked at her audacity to show up at ACN months later, Will calms down enough to ask Jenna, “Why do you want to work here?”
“I know what a greater fool is, and I want to be one,” Jenna replies.
Dumbfounded, Will asks her to ask the question again. “What makes America the greatest country in the world.”
His answer, “You do.”
As one might now guess, Will hires Jenna on the spot.
Dear Aaron Sorkin, you inspired my 15-year-old self to believe in moments like this. You inspired me to pursue writing, to pursue politics as an admirable profession, and to believe that greater fools win the hard-fought battles at the end of the day. And despite your own abandonment, or perhaps simply forgetting, of the ideals you built The Newsroom upon, I won’t abandon mine. Jenna Johnson and the characters in The Newsroom display many parallels to the 116th Congress — even if you don’t see it. They may fail big first before creating lasting change, but that’s exactly what a Greater Fool does.
You should know that.
