Our nation's newspapers and television networks have
placed themselves in charge of what is "news" and what
needs to be reported.
ADD Nation?
Gary Aldrich
townhall.com
May 19, 2004
Clarity is a focused state-of-mind – a concentration on one or just a few important issues. These days, clarity is a precious commodity, hard to come by and difficult to maintain. We had clarity right after September 11, 2001, but it soon slipped away. We are a nation on caffeine, desperately seeking its "meds." We jump from one manufactured crisis to another. I'm beginning to believe our society suffers from a collective Attention Deficit Disorder when it comes to national security.
We have all experienced clarity in our pasts. Recall the Senate confirmation hearings for then-Judge Clarence Thomas. Folks knew these hearings would greatly impact our nation, and all eyes were trained on the testimony. During the course of the hearings, lasting into the weekend, neighbors gathered around the sidewalks and fences to discuss the latest developments. We were focused – we had clarity.
September 11 proved another sidewalk-and-fences occasion. We gathered to reflect about what the attack meant for America and for us as individuals. We agreed our country was forever changed. Unfortunately, attitudes and attentions are rapidly returning to the same-old, same-old. We are losing focus.
What causes us to shift our concentration away from our country's vital interests? Who benefits if the subject changes to something less important?
While terrorists plot to buy or steal nuclear warheads for use in downtown Manhattan or DC, many people in government and media prove they either forgot about our security concerns or just don't care. They prefer to discuss nonsense, distracting us from the more important task of protecting ourselves. Sometimes they behave this way for political reasons, as selfish as that may be.
If a single nuclear bomb destroyed a major US city, we would have clarity again, but would it be too late? Some suggest if we lose New York City or DC, it's all but "over." Our economy would collapse, taking other world economies with it. Our faith in government's ability to protect us would be shattered. We might be persuaded to take up draconian methods to ensure our basic safety, eliminating freedoms and liberties altogether - perhaps forever.
A new Dark Age could set in. Do we really want to take that risk by losing our clarity now?
We may not have a choice. Our nation's newspapers and television networks have placed themselves in charge of what is "news" and what needs to be reported. They are drunk with power since CBS' 60 Minutes kicked off the Iraqi prison scandals. President Bush's poll numbers have sunk to an all-time low, and the Left-leaning mainstream media is in gleeful celebration. Their recent power "fix" will only fuel similar muckraking before the election.
Front pages host circus sideshow issues above the fold. Consider the wall-to-wall coverage of the few gender-confused Americans now jumping on the marriage benefits gravy train in Massachusetts. This development is sure to enrage the Dark Age Assassins who consider America the Great Satan. Newspaper editors may be overjoyed about the opportunity to poke Conservatives in the eye by amplifying this minuscule matter, but the larger question of our moral decline is not lost on the terrorists. They hate us for it.
Meanwhile, Hollywood makes movies about what might…happen…someday. These movies always favor the Left, which gives undue credibility to the fantasy world Hollywood producers live in. The global warming myth is now a blockbuster flick. Remarkably, national leaders feel inclined to comment. Al Gore jumped on the environmental band wagon over this science-fiction movie. In Gore's fantasy, the US finally gets what's coming to it when storms wreck the nation. You see, we didn't heed Al Gore's warnings! So there!
Never mind the Clinton/Gore administration ignored the gathering storm of real destruction with their 8-year-long passivity toward Osama Bin Laden.
We don't need science-fiction or small, fanatic factions, even if they are in love, to distract us right now. We are continually under terrorist attack, regardless that our own cities don't explode every day. But in our national state of ADD, if destruction doesn't occur every five minutes, we turn our backs to the ongoing dangers and redirect attention to bizarre amusements. We're losing our clarity, people.
In a recent testimony before the 9/11 Commission, Condoleezza Rice asserted that before September 11, 2001, we were not on a war footing, making us vulnerable to terrorist attacks.
It appears we may be incapable of sustaining a long-term war footing. If true, we're playing right into the hands of the Dark Age Assassins on a mission from their God to kill all infidels - gay or straight, black or white.
Gary Aldrich is president and founder of The Patrick Henry Center for Individual Liberty, a Townhall.com member group.
©2004 Gary W. Aldrich
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