Sorry the following is a rant.....
We have become a nation that is self-serving, self-medicating, and self-centered. We have become a nation so obsessed with entrainment that we no longer have news on TV. We have so devalued what is truly news with stories of spoiled celebrities, grossly overpaid athletes and slick sound bite hungry politicians. We have TV stations dedicated to the worship of all 3. We pump billions of dollars into watching movies, Satellite TV, Plasma TVs, Surround sound systems, DVD players to enjoy these high paid actors preach their narrow view of America to us. We will spend the exact same amount to watch sports live, on TV and Pay-per-view just to watch someone, you would not trust to hold $20 for you, play a child’s game. We choose our government officials based on how good they look on TV, not on their platforms.
Where does the blame go? Is it the entertainers, (who by the way get paid to lie to us)? Is it the news stations? Is it the politicians? No, it is the general population of this United States of America. We have asked for this. We have even demanded it. The majority of the common people in America fall into two groups. Group one consists of those who are so tolerant of others and their beliefs they actually become intolerant of everything that they do not like. They want all mention of God, Christmas, or anything to do with Christianity banned. They carry the banner of separation of church and state and see anyone that disagrees with their position a bigot, (which is the very definition of bigotry.) This group is the loudest and the media loves them. The second group consists of those who have quit caring all together. This is either by sheer laziness or just because they have decided that they cannot or will compete with the loud-mouthed group 1. They believe it does not affect them so why bother. They are disturbed by what they see on TV but will not do anything about it. The biggest evidence of this is the rise in obesity in America.
So why should we care? We as a country are falling down a slippery slope that is almost impossible to get back up from. It has been said before but bears repeating: The fall of arguably the greatest world power happened this way. Rome had started valuing entertainment higher than anything else that they were unprepared for the future. Their immersion into escapism blinded them from seeing the dangers that lay ahead.
By righting this, do I fell like it will make a huge difference in the price of movies or the cost of sporting event tickets? No, I do not. It will take more than one person to wake the nation up. It is also not going to be popular because those in control of the entertainment, professional sports, and the politicians will say that I am an alarmist. If we as a country really woke up their comfortable lives would collapse.
How do we fix it? How do we recover? The answer is not simple and it will disrupt everyone’s way of life. Turn off the TVs and go meet your neighbors. Go to the dollar movies instead of the first run shows. Buy all CDs and DVDs only when they are on sale. Boycott professional sports and go watch a little league or high school game. Read a book. Take a walk. Get over your sense of entitlement. No one owes you anything.
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