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Venting My Frustration

I really shouldn’t watch TV or listen to the radio. Its just bad for my health. Sometimes I get so angry and frustrated that I feel like I’m going to burst a blood vessel. All I want to know is how I am anti-American because I have serious concerns over the motivations, the justifications, and the false allegations involved in the beginning of the war. I want to know how I denigrate the service of our troops by lamenting their deaths and wondering if they were really necessary. I want to know why those who think like me (by recent polls, the majority of Americans) are called, as one talk radio lady put it, “angry people without the love of God in their hearts who hate everything.” I want to know why it is assumed that because I criticize the war, I must hate our troops and want them to die. I want to know why logical, reasoned arguments against or in criticism of the war are so often countered and drowned out with intensely emotional, passionate appeals to patriotic sentiment and vague nationalistic slogans like “defending freedom.” Yes, that sounds good but what does that MEAN? And moreover, how does it render the concerns of the American people somehow irrelevant?

The current administration has repeatedly blundered and lost the trust of the people. Their national approval ratings are at an all-time low. But due to the strength and volume of the voices of right-wing loyalists shouting in our ears, at times you’d think this was the most-loved and effective government in the history of our nation, achieving near deity-like status. Well, that’s the liberal media for you.

Comments

Anonymous said…
If you're liberal and listening to Hannity, yeah, you'll probably burst. But hey! Just turn the dial to . . . oh just about anything else. Or read . . . oh, about any other newspaper. Or heck, just turn to channel . . ah! Just about any will do.

They'll make you feel better.
FoxyJ said…
Yeah, I like to listen to NPR in the car and some days it's great (not usually too right wing fanaticish), but sometimes I just want to tune out and take a "news break". I enjoy feeling like I'm up on current events, but I get tired sometimes of always dealing with politics wherever we go. Can I just not have an opinion sometimes?
Matt Haws said…
Thats a great idea, foxyj. Maybe I just need a little break from it all. I'm exhausted with it. I think a big cause of American apathy is just exhaustion. Let's all take a nap.
FoxyJ said…
Apathy is definitely related to information overload. A lot of people would rather tune out than sort it all out. Plus I feel like lately politics are so polarized that there is a lot of pressure to have a firm opinion on things so people can decide where you fit. A lot of times I'm still forming my opinion, and it often changes. I like to acknowledge the ambiguities of life rather than pretending that the world is so black and white.
Matt Haws said…
On this subject, take a look at this cartoon: http://news.yahoo.com/comics/coffee;_ylt=AoKPmf2z1pm8pZn6tBfdEv9U_b4F;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl
Anonymous said…
What better way to deal with the exhaustion of fighting American apathy than joining--temporarily--the homogeneous malaise of bread-land America?
Matt Haws said…
I took your advice, anonymous, and joined the heartland of america by donning a cowboy hat, listening to Garth Brooks, and waving the biggest American flag I could find. Then I had some apple pie, sang "Amazing Grace" and sat by the fire, listening to grandpa tell tales of the war. And, actually, to tell you the truth, I do feel much better. Thanks!

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