The Obama/McChrystal Show

I normally like to stay away from news commentary (either on television or anywhere else--unless it's on NPR, and then I try to read between the lines so I don't end up swallowing what NPR wants me to swallow), but I thought this whole day-long drama that revolved around General McChrystal's firing by President Obama earlier this week demonstrated exactly what is wrong with American news media today. I'll put it simply: If you watch the news channels--ANY of the news channels--you are watching the masculinely correct version of a soap opera. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that's right--a soap opera. Let me break the Obama/McChrystal show down for you in classic TV preview format:

"Will McChrystal be fired? What will this mean for Obama's war strategy? Who will Obama hire to replace McChrystal? Tune in tomorrow--same time, same channel."

Come on, ladies and gentlemen. All of you who have at least some inkling of maturity know that if you talk trash about your employer, you get fired. People who post garbage about their bosses or companies' policies on Twitter or Facebook get canned left and right. Why do you think it would be any different for a general serving under the Commander-in-Chief?

Personally, I don't believe we actually have news channels or news services in America. Instead, we have news ENTERTAINMENT channels, news ENTERTAINMENT services, and news ENTERTAINMENT programming, all designed to bring the oldest reality TV show to the American small screen. And you, my fellow American, are in all likelihood stupid enough to tune in, cloaking your desire for soap opera-style entertainment in the guise of wanting to be an informed citizen. Make no mistake--I'm not blaming the news entertainment industry for the way it presents its news--I'm blaming YOU for sparking the DEMAND for this sort of nonsense. The minute that all of you couch potatoes out there turn off CNN AND Fox News, wake up, and begin to participate in our society as informed citizens--instead of letting talk show hosts tell you what you should be concerned about (and what you should think)--the sooner we as a society will start seeing some REAL SOLUTIONS to our problems.

Find what I said insulting? GOOD. Maybe someone needs to come along and wake your sorry rear end up out of your talk show induced, entertainment addicted stupor so that you can see that government for the people, of the people, and BY the people is deadly serious business. Do you know who your elected representatives are? Do you care? Have you any concern about the way things are going in your country, BEYOND your interest in staying tuned to the latest nonsense about the latest so-called government "outrage" on your favorite news entertainment channel? Well, then, maybe you should read, and more importantly, maybe you should become a little more active in supporting the things YOU believe in. So my question to you is this: Are you going to let corporate interests whose lifeblood is making sure you are entertained rather than informed tell you what to get upset about . . . or are you going to get out of that chair and find out for yourself?

This is America. It's your country. Maybe you should start acting like it.