I know I am not alone in complaining about this, but by God it feels like it sometimes. I am plagued with the seemingly incurable disease of distractibility.
Anyone who knows me can second this without batting an eyelash. In fact, just today I have known this column was breathing down my neck, but what did I do? Well, see, first I cleaned my apartment, then I played Halo 3 on the Xbox ... sorry, where was I?
So anyway, I digress in regards to my own problems and instead I will do the American thing and point the finger elsewhere. This past week we have had not one, but four losses to our entertainment community. All these losses came with their groups of fans appropriately mourning their losses as well as wall-to-wall news coverage. Some stars, disappointingly, receiving more than others, but I am getting distracted by details.
Here in lies my problem. We are currently in the greatest economic recession our country has ever faced, having surpassed that of the Great Depression. Our world is teetering on the brink of chaos with North Korea threatening nuclear war, Iran struggles to maintain its democracy, and we have yet to supply health care to the millions of Americans struggling from paycheck to paycheck.
My complaint is where is the news on this? It's almost like Fox, CNN and the rest of 'em of are using these tragic deaths as a distraction to what is plaguing our world.
Who cares about the current Green Bill that is going through congress that is promising to create hundreds of jobs and help America begin the long, arduous road to relinquishing our tight grips on fossil fuels?
Forget news, I want to hear more about how Michael Jackson lived a rough life. Don't get me wrong, please. I love "Thriller" as much as the next person, but I'm sorry if I am just a tad bit more concerned about other things, like whether the institution that created scum like Bernie Madoff and Edward Liddy are brought to justice, not just "bailed" out. Sorry, I got distracted again.
I don't mind mourning the loss of some of entertainment's best and brightest, but we must stay focused on the issues at hand and force our media to stay honest to their job.
I'm a journalist, I know about newsworthiness and getting ratings, but what are we willing to sacrifice for that? Our education and understanding of the world? I'm not. These distractions are creating a stain upon our hands, and despite what Billy Mays says, OxiClean cannot take this stain out.
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