I'm not "Trading"
by Daniel R. Hirtler on 01/28/11
It is a week since Keith Olbermann was fired from MSNBC, and I still feel the loss of his perspective; it helped me cope with the disgusting nation we have become. My boycott of MSNBC, NBC, and Comcast has created an information black-out for me, which has had the effect of insulating me from needing to see our fellow citizens' appalling behavior, and I am calmer because of it.
Sadly, one cannot be left alone indefinitely; I received an email with a link to an article written by Leslie Griffith from Reader Supported News, whose perspective it was that it was time to say goodbye to Keith Olbermann since he had devolved into a personality, like Glenn Beck, who inflames the public. She finished up by suggesting that Fox sacrifice Glenn Beck in trade. What shit!
First of all, There is nothing wrong with inflaming the public, as long as you speak the truth. Keith Olbermann did tell us the truth, and often qualified the truth he was telling us.
Second, his perspective is not one which is easily found in the Mainstream Media, and we are all bombarded by media, and our subconscience is affected by it. Even public broadcasting is so afraid of being defunded that they are so careful not to say anything that moves against the current social tide. Without media that supports our self image, our self image languishes in self-doubt, or worse, in desperation.
Third, who gave Leslie Griffith the right to trade my icon for another that many would like to see disappear? It wasn't enough that Countdown had good ratings in competition for its time slot, now my icon is subject to the forces that want to silence dissent? I am sooo over being american! I share citizenship with a crew of ignorant, selfish, boorish bastards (and I mean that literally), most of whom are not even benefitting by the selfishness they support.
I am not willing to take what the mainstream culture is offering. I expect my culture to be tolerant, inclusive, progressive; not hypocritical, not bigoted, not destructive.
Individual silence under these circumstances is equal to participation, and I am not going to participate (or for that matter negotiate) with the antisocial behavior that is being a 21st century american.
