Saturday, July 24, 2004
Cardboard castles perched upon clouds
What an unholy hold rightwing leaders have over America's soul.
Somehow, since the Reagan years, the party has managed to subvert and redefine a number of heretofore dignified words within the American lexicon: family values, liberalism, celebrity, compassion -- even kindness and love have been marginalized, twisted and framed into something divisive and worthy of contempt.
While it's shocking enough to see this feat accomplished, even over time, what's decidedly sickening is its attendant poisoning of America's overall atmosphere as the GOP'ers continue to generate fear, alter the meaning and history of words and further divide the country through insidious methods. The hatred they breed hangs palpably in the air, clogging our hearts and minds.
The press has been co-opted by Sun Myung Moon's purchase of UPI and The Washington Times (that lovely paper that reported WMD as having been found last week -- a story all credible media was reticent to endorse). Yet publicly decrying the media a "liberal " stronghold seems enough for Americans to swallow the notion wholesale without any investigation into the facts.
With a failing media serving as more lapdog than watchdog, a ready team to spew Bush's talking points wherever and whenever they can, a President who repeats "America is safer!" eight times in one speech without offering one shred of empiral evidence, we're living in a carefully constructed superficial pseudo-reality.
The only speck of sunlight peeking through exists in the knowledge that houses built on shifting sand cannot withstand inclement weather. It remains to be seen if said weather will consist of a majority determined to expose the truth or acts of terrorism perpetrated against the US in retaliation for decades of bad foreign policy.
One way or another, the truth will have its day. The price may be more than we're willing to pay, but we can only blame ourselves if it takes radical outside interference to expose what we as a nation willingly continue to subvert.
On another political note: the Brad Blog is still up in full swing. If you've not visited it, Brad Friedman offers an excellent, timely, thoughtful counterpoint to the current fiction being offered by our leaders. He's also been instrumental in uncovering many of the truths behind the Enrique Presley/Claire Chanel/Andy Kaufman exploits, though neither of us has really determined the identity of Stephen Maddox aka "Running Man." Not sure if his "Claire Chanel FAQ" still exists, but his political commentary alone is priceless.
http://www.bradfriedman.com/BradBlog/
Somehow, since the Reagan years, the party has managed to subvert and redefine a number of heretofore dignified words within the American lexicon: family values, liberalism, celebrity, compassion -- even kindness and love have been marginalized, twisted and framed into something divisive and worthy of contempt.
While it's shocking enough to see this feat accomplished, even over time, what's decidedly sickening is its attendant poisoning of America's overall atmosphere as the GOP'ers continue to generate fear, alter the meaning and history of words and further divide the country through insidious methods. The hatred they breed hangs palpably in the air, clogging our hearts and minds.
The press has been co-opted by Sun Myung Moon's purchase of UPI and The Washington Times (that lovely paper that reported WMD as having been found last week -- a story all credible media was reticent to endorse). Yet publicly decrying the media a "liberal " stronghold seems enough for Americans to swallow the notion wholesale without any investigation into the facts.
With a failing media serving as more lapdog than watchdog, a ready team to spew Bush's talking points wherever and whenever they can, a President who repeats "America is safer!" eight times in one speech without offering one shred of empiral evidence, we're living in a carefully constructed superficial pseudo-reality.
The only speck of sunlight peeking through exists in the knowledge that houses built on shifting sand cannot withstand inclement weather. It remains to be seen if said weather will consist of a majority determined to expose the truth or acts of terrorism perpetrated against the US in retaliation for decades of bad foreign policy.
One way or another, the truth will have its day. The price may be more than we're willing to pay, but we can only blame ourselves if it takes radical outside interference to expose what we as a nation willingly continue to subvert.
On another political note: the Brad Blog is still up in full swing. If you've not visited it, Brad Friedman offers an excellent, timely, thoughtful counterpoint to the current fiction being offered by our leaders. He's also been instrumental in uncovering many of the truths behind the Enrique Presley/Claire Chanel/Andy Kaufman exploits, though neither of us has really determined the identity of Stephen Maddox aka "Running Man." Not sure if his "Claire Chanel FAQ" still exists, but his political commentary alone is priceless.
http://www.bradfriedman.com/BradBlog/
