Monday, August 10, 2009

America America

Yesterday I heard about friends who were short selling their home because their businesses had basically slowed to a crawl. Bad enough but then watching CNN I was inundated by stories of once happily middle class people living in cars and out of work and unable to care for their kids. During the commercial break Larry King advertises his next show talkin about Jermaine Jackson "sharing his grief about Michael". Enough already with the MJ stuff! It is a tragedy but I sure brother Jermaine is not going to be homeless soon or will miss a meal or lacks health insurance.
The problems facing the American people and their abysmal knowledge of the facts and reality need a lot more discussion and education and it is the medias responsibility to help.
the conversation has been distracted from the issues. Those overweight demonstrators collecting Medical and Medicaid complaining about government programs and waiting for the Post Office to deliver their unemployment checks and Social Security checks need to understand the gravity of the situation before they are diagnosed with a life threatening illness that promises to ruin their lives and everything they once worked for.
Listening to some of the politicians particularly those from the south is terribly disheartening when we think that we are supposed to elect the best and brightest. If this is the best they have they are in big trouble. Bill Maher said the other night that just because we have a smart president does not mean we are a smart people. Everyday fifteen minutes of news proves that. All one has to do is check out the likes of Bill O, Sean H, bug-eyed Glen Beck or the hags like Coulter and Malkin to understand that needs an infusion of IQ points to the general populace.
It is stunning that the country is so schizoid in terms of education howling about its importance and yet maintaining a stance of anti-intellectualism and hostility towards the Humanities and academia.

2 comments:

  1. Dude,

    I usually steer very clear of political discussions online, but i'd like to make a puerile and overly generalized comment on your posts thus far that you may feel free to discard at will.
    i think you make a critical rhetorical error by dismissing figures such as Coulter, Beck, and Hannity as having substandard intelligence. Whatever their collective views on politics are, these are not dull witted, or even ignorant, people.
    Outrage is a perfectly acceptable foundational motive for a given discourse, but naked hostility seldom improves an argument.
    just a thought.

    jr

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  2. I am by no means attempting to be rhetorical and I disagree with you as to the intelligence of those three in particular. I do think the are at the least marginal in their intellect and short sighted in their overview.On another point I feel they introduced the naked hostility to their arguments first, at least for me, the Left in the 70's and 80's asked for it I agree but I find these people absolutely vile, racist and fanning the flames of ignorance and prejudice and for that I am unforgiving and very angry.

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