I don’t know who these people are and frankly don’t care, but here’s my question: why are they upstaging the escalation of the war in Afghanistan and the fact that we’re destroying the planet?
Yesterday I happen to have lunch somewhere with CNN playing the White House press conference that was supposed to be about Obama’s announced 34,000 troop increase in Afghanistan. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs got noticeably annoyed when three different reporters asked him about the couple that crashed the president’s first state dinner, apparently because they like pretending they are rich and famous. While reporters hammered follow up questions about the potential danger to the president that their gate-crashing signaled, I wondered about the danger to democracy posed by such a shallow, scandal obsessed media. Of course, someone should fix the whole in White House security. I still fear for Obama’s safety and think the Secret Service should take this seriously. But is it really the top story? If the female gate-crasher wasn’t thin and blond, would we be this interested?
I am generally skeptical of conspiracy theories, but part of me wonders who doesn’t want us paying attention to the real news. Aside from the wars and the fact that the climate change bill is barely mentioned, has anyone noticed that part of the reason the dinner for the Indian head of state is important is that that’s where so many formerly US jobs are heading? No wonder reality TV star seems like the most promising career to pursue.
Excellent rant. Thanks for this.
Another friend suggested that if she’d been a person of color that the secret service might have been more diligent.
Thanks, Jeanne. I’m sure your friend is right.
Conspiracy–nah. Maybe from the cosmetic interventions industry–these two lovely people have had Botox injected in to their brains, and the execs want us to see the heights to which the procedure can take you.
Scary, yes. I am rooting for Obama, big time.
By the way, I am really benefiting from your book. I don’t read self-help books–most of them are idiotic or common sense based, telling me things I already know. Of course if I don’t read them, how do I know this? Okay, I’m caught in my own bad logic. Anyway, your book is subtle and deep and it casts a wide net by explicating how a spiritual approach to life’s challenges can be the key to growth and forward movement. Great stuff!!
Thanks, Helen. I don’t really believe it’s a conspiracy–at least not consciously. However, I do think there is a level on which the powers that be don’t want people thinking too much. Unfortunately, most people are willing to oblige.
I think that the war ends up being something that is not real for many of us. The other day as I was driving along, I thought how the president is responsible for sending so many soldiers to their death, whether it be Bush or Obama. It occurred to me that I’m not sure if either one really understands the gravity of that. When thinking about these kinds of issues I always try to put it into a personal perspective. Its common for a president to say that the soldiers are fighting for our freedom. If I personally was in a situation where someone was going to take away my freedom, would I be willing to say to another human being, "die for me so I will have my freedom". I’m originally from NH where license plates say "live free or die". Would I really give my life for freedom? How many other lives would I give for my freedom? Another question should be "what are we really fighting for in Iraq or Afghanistan?" Freedom? Safety? Why should so many soldiers die so that citizens will be safe here in the USA? I personally don’t believe that we are safer and that’s just awful that maybe there isn’t any reason at all that those soldiers have died. But, we just sit here in the US in our comfy houses watching such stupid things on TV. Personally, I’ve many times turned off the "news" and have felt sad that as a society this is what has become important to us. Sorry for the rant but everytime I think of the wars that we are in, I get angry and unfortunately, like everyone else I usually just stop thinking about it because I feel helpless to do anything….or maybe just too selfish to do anything.
I share your angst, Elise, as well as your tendency to turn off the news. Whenever I hear someone say, "Fighting for your freedom," I want to respond, "You mean my freedom to use too many fossil fuels without thinking too much about it." After dragging my kids to many peace marches, rallies, and vigils in the early years of the wars, I feel pretty disempowered and rarely show up anymore. I don’t want to put this in the category of things we can’t change, but I haven’t figured out how to change it myself.