| Watching the news, it is hard to believe that there is | | | | dose of two-minutes hate against an "overpaid," |
| any major problem with the US economy. Or, if there | | | | "arrogant" baseball player instills a healthy amount of |
| is a problem it is hard to understand why it is more | | | | fear of and trust in government violence. |
| important than the entertainment section or the | | | | The real objective, so far as I can tell, is not even to |
| sport commentary. In fact, I'm finding it more difficult | | | | prevent athletes from shooting up. I think it is a safe |
| to differentiate between economics, politics, sports, | | | | bet that many of them are still doing it and will |
| and entertainment in the mainstream media, which | | | | continue to do so. The lesson to be learned here is |
| has spent the better part of the past year focusing | | | | that, if an athlete is planning on taking steroids, they |
| on the potential use of steroids by well-known | | | | better do a good job of not getting caught. And if |
| athletes from track stars to baseball players. The | | | | they are unlucky enough to make a name for |
| raging foreclosure crisis, a topic with much more | | | | themselves and get caught, they better not lie to |
| personal effects on the average consumer, causing a | | | | their surrogate parents (the State), or else they can |
| depression in the real estate market is almost | | | | expect a televised dog and pony show to illustrate |
| completely ignored. | | | | their humiliation every day by lawyers in Congress |
| Why is this? It seems to me that all this focus on | | | | who have never played a sport in their lives and |
| irrelevant sports and entertainment is simply part of | | | | have absolutely no idea what they are even talking |
| the public relations plan put on by the government, | | | | about (but who are only too happy to take |
| which spins its wheels investigating worthless events | | | | contributions from drug companies and medical |
| that harm no one but involve celebrities and | | | | interests). |
| professional sports players. And from the perspective | | | | Not to mention the fact that almost no one in |
| of the media, consumers and homeowners worried | | | | Congress (with a few notable exceptions ) has any |
| about foreclosure are much less likely to spend their | | | | idea what they are talking about in terms of |
| increasingly unstable incomes on the products of | | | | economics, foreclosures, or foreign policy, either. I |
| advertisers running commercials on the stations. It | | | | think it would be safe to bet that they would not do |
| really is just easier for everyone involved to pretend | | | | a better job of investigating those topics than they |
| that problems do not exist. | | | | happen to be doing with steroids, and the results will |
| But the governmental focus on investigating sports | | | | be just as worthless and irrelevant to the vast |
| and entertainment also helps politicians build | | | | majority of homeowners wondering how they will |
| themselves up and increase their own celebrity | | | | make their mortgage payment next month. |
| status. By appearing to be investigating important | | | | So maybe the best we can hope for from the |
| issues like one person taking a substance or not | | | | government is just to keep on investing topics that |
| taking a substance, it helps create an aura of higher | | | | are wholly irrelevant to most people. Leave the |
| celebrity around government officials, who are never | | | | people and the market to work out its own |
| lacking in ego. It also gives these professional lawyers | | | | instabilities and get over the current recession with as |
| another forum in which to spout off their opinions of | | | | little interference as possible. But would it be |
| "universal truths" about "The Law," "fairness," | | | | reasonable for the media to focus slightly more on |
| "justice," and all the rest. | | | | providing homeowners with more important |
| The pointless inquiries also takes time away that | | | | information that they can use to keep on top of |
| could be used to investigate real potential issues, | | | | their finances and navigate through the housing |
| such as war crimes, financial crimes, economic | | | | depression, rather than bombarding the viewer with |
| incompetence, and so on. But all of those, of course, | | | | irrelevant celebrity trials for victimless crimes? |
| are depressing to most Americans, whereas a daily | | | | |
