danger!
So as I read the news and follow the little tidbits of thing, I am noticing small stories that pop out at me. Not good small stories either. Stories like that of the military being heavily influenced by religion (asking soldiers to hunt for Jesus). Stories of murder suicides due to the economy, stories of hate crimes. These stories are becoming more and more the norm. The country is being divided. It’s not a 50/50 divide, but more like an 80/20 sort of divide. What’s left of the republican party just happen to be the extreme far-right brand of it, and as crazy as they are, the almost ridiculous things they say and do actually have a following. I work with a guy that talks about how he doesn’t like the direction of this country and feels we need to get back to some core values of the past. Which core values might he be referring to; slavery, cleansing of native Americans, segregation, stripping the rights of women? Hmmm. Anyway, beyond that I am noticing that the small minority is still large enough to eventually start some real trouble. You have radio personalities stirring the pot and throwing out this idea that the country is heading for doom. We are turning into socialist. But Newt Gingrich compares what Obama is doing as to McCarthyism, but doesn’t seem to think starting wars and spying on Americans as anything but an essential tool to keep America safe. How did these guys become such pussies? Michelle Bachmann (the #1 republican whacko) gets tv time to say crazy shit like how Obama wants to re-educate the youth in camps. Re-educate them with what, common sense? It blows me away that people can be so blatantly stupid and incorrect in the things they say, and yet, still have people in this country not know it’s wrong. Nobody wants to admit that America is still racist, but Fox News is full of bigots and homophobes that go on air and spread the message of fear and hate. But it’s ok, they are a news channel.
Getting back to my main point…I am concerned with the direction of this country. I think what Obama is doing is good. I think he is making moves and pointing the country in the right direction with a plan that will eventually work. Maybe not every aspect of it, but I think there will be enough trial and error over the next few years that we will see progress. However, the government is not really my concern anymore. What I worry about now days is the way the popular media is influencing people in the wrong way. Most talk radio is conservative talk radio. Guys like Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck, and the hundreds of other douche bags on the air continually (and intentionally, I think) getting their facts wrong on everything from the state of the world to basic policy. They do this while millions of angry (mostly) white dude’s let this garbage sink in and stew for awhile. I think the general mindset of these guys must be that; since these radio guys come off as well informed, and obviously were hired by “somebody” to preach nonsense to the masses. Plus, them being white is a plus, so their words must be valid and be rooted in some sort of truth! And maybe sometimes it is, but more often than not, the truth in the things they say is generally distorted to fit a different sort of message altogether. They give reasons to be angry at the government while ignoring how dangerous the game they are playing really is. I think this idea of “entertainment” being just a word, and not something people take serious is wrong. This sort of thing is a problem when you have an entire cable network crying wolf and scaring the American public into thinking their own government is trying to keep them down. When people are saying these things, what is really the goal? What else would be expected from a people whose government is trying to bend them over? The obvious answer is to take up arms against liberals and their liberal government and squash them. This country will be divided over idealism if nothing changes.
Getting back to my main point…I am concerned with the direction of this country. I think what Obama is doing is good. I think he is making moves and pointing the country in the right direction with a plan that will eventually work. Maybe not every aspect of it, but I think there will be enough trial and error over the next few years that we will see progress. However, the government is not really my concern anymore. What I worry about now days is the way the popular media is influencing people in the wrong way. Most talk radio is conservative talk radio. Guys like Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck, and the hundreds of other douche bags on the air continually (and intentionally, I think) getting their facts wrong on everything from the state of the world to basic policy. They do this while millions of angry (mostly) white dude’s let this garbage sink in and stew for awhile. I think the general mindset of these guys must be that; since these radio guys come off as well informed, and obviously were hired by “somebody” to preach nonsense to the masses. Plus, them being white is a plus, so their words must be valid and be rooted in some sort of truth! And maybe sometimes it is, but more often than not, the truth in the things they say is generally distorted to fit a different sort of message altogether. They give reasons to be angry at the government while ignoring how dangerous the game they are playing really is. I think this idea of “entertainment” being just a word, and not something people take serious is wrong. This sort of thing is a problem when you have an entire cable network crying wolf and scaring the American public into thinking their own government is trying to keep them down. When people are saying these things, what is really the goal? What else would be expected from a people whose government is trying to bend them over? The obvious answer is to take up arms against liberals and their liberal government and squash them. This country will be divided over idealism if nothing changes.
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