I AM SO FED UP I AM WRITING IN ALL CAPS...
I've reached my limit of tolerance for the rampant stupidity and distracted morality in this country. We have to pull ourselves together, and do it now. I'm at such a loss for words. I feel like the only sane person in the room some days. I see my coworkers watching mindless 24 hour "news" channels with mindless faces... constantly being spooned sugar-coated celebrity gossip followed closely by horrific stories of mass killings and tragic earthquake photos in crisp colors... 5.1 dolby... Soon I see my coworkers stop flinching when the scene shifts from Lindsay Lohan to a bloodied face of a carbombing victim in Iraq. Flies gathering around his eyes. My coworkers munch on their lunch and are immediately shifted to a fear story about identity theft which is followed by a commercial that says nothing but "Head on, apply directly to the forehead. Head on, apply directly to the forehead. Head on, apply directly to the forehead." For the morons who won't even question the idea that applying a glue-stick like device to their head isn't a bit strange, and certainly doesn't deserve an explanation... just obedience. We're a few steps from the government paid message coming up to tell us to take our afternoon medicine.
Have you noticed that with the exception of the Iraq war, CNN and Fox news cover American news? How do they fill 24 hours with American news? They can't. They have to over cover. They have to find news... even when it's not news. They will grab any survey or study statistic in hopes of filling several seconds of airtime before switching to a story on a brutal rape/murder. With photos of course.
The choices we make. The speech we use. All are effected by watching stupid people. Stupid news. Stupid leaders who tell us to obey without question. Don't think about it Joe and Jane... it'll just make your head hurt. If you get depressed, just switch to a sitcom, and listen for the crowd to laugh. That will let you know when a funny happened.
Even TV for the "intelligent" is dumb. Opinions all. C-span is nothing but a bunch of book authors reading their own work in monotone. History channel plays footage of long dead wars and gives us their opinion of whether Satan exists twice a month. Discovery channel provides some intelligent entertainment, but it's just a distraction from the dullness of life. There are a few channels that seem to promote "living"... the Travel channel and Food network seem to have a world view that promotes learning about "real" people in their "real" environment.
NPR provides stimulation on a near-dead media (Uh, what's FM?). Doing their best to raise questions, focus on the harsh realities of our shrinking global economy... but it's on the radio. Who's listening? Will it make a difference? I know it won't to my coworkers who trudge from work and climb into their cars and listen to nothing on their way home while they anticipate who is going to "get it" on tonight's episode of reality tv.
This all seems to take perfect form in the presidential race. I'm pretty unabashed about supporting Barack Obama, and I don't go a day without somebody asking me how I can trust a muslim... or why I'd support someone who doesn't think the war was a good idea... Last night, a valet that works for me looked at me and said "You'd vote for a black guy?" When I choked on my dinner and stared at him he explained that having a black president would "give the blacks momentum, and make them feel like they were in charge which is the last thing we need right now, right?" I was in shock. I don't know why though. Racism is obviously still alive and well. Both sides of every fence... but to hear it voiced, as if legitimate, was indeed shocking.
It's hard enough to explain that if you are going to believe any candidate when they say what their religious affiliation is, then you need to believe all of them. John McCain has declared in some meetings that he is Episcopalian, and in others that he is Baptist. Depending on the crowd, he gets to anger catholics in a totally different way! Giuliani had a blatant affair with his secretary and leaves his wife for her publicly. But I'm sure he's a wonderful spiritual role model for our children right? And that one candidate who's attended the same protestant church for years, has a healthy relationship with his wife and daughters, lives by what most would say are strong christian values? Nah. His name is Barack Hussien Obama. And he'd give blacks too much confidence. Make em feel like somebody in office wasn't going to screw them over... don't vote for him.
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2 comments:
I have nothing to say. You've said it all. Thank you.
That one's religion or marital history or sexual orientation or race or television preferences come up in political elections is precisely what is wrong with the process. If it's true, which I naturally doubt, that John McCain lied about his denomination in order to gain favor with lunatics who wrongly believe it to make a bit of difference in what quality of president he would be, I'm glad he did. They can't just come right out and say the truth - that religion is stupid and impedes on our political process in the most disturbing of ways – therefore, playing the game to his or her best advantage is the next best option to speaking bluntly.
As for TV, don’t blame the medium for the stupidity of the masses. As it stands, at this precise point in history, we as Americans have the absolute most possible real and true and helpful and quality information, entertainment and programming at our fingertips. That some are foolish enough to make such profoundly poor choices in what they decide to view is their prerogative. Cable “news” channels are entertainment, nothing more. It’s unfortunate that most people are stupid and consequently believe this programming – along with Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert to be actual, legitimate news as opposed to unmitigated garbage is a shame. But it’s not TV’s fault; they’re supplying what the stupid masses demand; it’s called capitalism.
And boy do I hate that black Iraqi Muslim fundamentalist Hussein Osama!
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