At the risk of sounding like a bloviated douche bag, I’m going to expound a little on my frustration. Also, am going to clarify that I am just as much of a hypocrite as the next guy/gal.
I’m a fan of entertainment. I believe whole heartedly that the human heart must have a release from the daily stresses of our lives. The entertainment industry – of which as a writer I am part of – serves a need to help us forget, if only for a moment, that which weighs us down.
I freely admit to enjoying shopping and makeup and other frivolous pursuits as much as the next person. I spend an inordinate amount of time reading my twitter feed on my iPhone (ask anyone who has worked with me). And I am a huge Apple fan.
I freely admit that I am a hypocrite. I am just as much a part of the problem as the next person.
But that does not stop me from getting frustrated when people refuse to consider the broad reaching ramifications of the events in the Middle East. It’s maddening to me that there are as many people calling for another war as there are salivating over the next iProduct.
Because the fires burning in the Middle East don’t affect the average person. The banking crisis that spawned a global economic meltdown escapes most people. The problems facing our world are complex and I fully admit to turning it off sometimes because it’s too damn depressing. The war in Iraq and Afghanistan are so easily forgotten because most people aren’t affected by it. They don’t *have* to care.
But when the be all and end all of our life is the next iproduct? When it is easier to throw around talk of war than it is to get health insurance? When one of our ambassadors is murdered, we still focus on the next ithing? What the hell is wrong with us that this is what we consume? A steady diet of junk news does not make us capable of engaging in national discourse, local discourse or any type of discourse about whether or not some pop star had a boob job.
Folks, I love our country, for all it’s good and it’s bad. But I’m so frustrated by our lack of real discussion about issues, our lack of comprehensive understanding of real problems, not paper targets made up to get people – like me – wound up about birth control when we’ve got bigger problems.
Dude, go buy your iPhone. Escape and unplug for a little while. Everyone is entitled to do that. Don’t feel guilty about it.
But don’t use it to call for a war that you’re not going to fight and that you’re not willing to raise taxes to pay for.
