Is This The New Age?

Last night, someone posed a challenge at The Dark Arts. This has no relevance to what i'm about to say, but I thought I would give it credit for starting this little post of mine. The challenge was called "A Tribute to the Losers." It's goal? To break people out of the nasty habit of only making graphics containing the so-called "beautiful people." At this, I leapt.

"Ted Kennedy," I screamed.

"Wait, no! Tom Delay!" I countered.

"Stop," my creative center shouted, "Do Scooter Libby!"

In the end of my noisy argument with myself, I settled on Tucker Carlson. But Bill O'Reily and Hilary, Condy, Barbara Boxer and Tipper Gore were also thrown around in the bull pen that night. This morning, as I dug around for images of my loathed Tucker that weren't pixelated, tiny or so inflamatory i'd have to hurt him on the spot, I realized something that caused me to die a little inside.

Is this the new age?

Is this millenium going to turn out a generation of human beings like me? People who watch C-SPAN compulsively, then turn aroudn and watch, read or listen to hours of coverage an proceedings that have little or nothing to do with the actual political process or it's outcome for it's entertainment value rather than it's relevance to their lives? We all know how I feel about media whores like Tucker Carlson and Bill O'Reilly and, if you don't, I think Jon Stewart said it best when he said "You're hurting us, you dick!"

We have people like Richard Engel working on projects that are actually called things as horrible and inane as "Blogging Baghdad" while Hardball and Larry King Live carry on perpetuating the problem.

Three years ago, I might have said that all of these shows were a good thing. Anyone can attest to the fact that i'm a big fan of making learning fun :) My brother learned to read, write and do math by the age of three using video game software for our PC. As you can imagine, i've been a believer in it ever since, but I dont know that we should really be making a game out of politics for the 175lb infants that inhabit this nation. What's worse is, I feel myself being sucked in and I have quite a bit of respect for my own intelligence.

For me, it's a coping mechanism. I use it in all aspects of my life. Destroyed house? Funny. Poked a hole in the wall while trying to paint? Hilarious. My only friend in the world dies and I like to think of a it as a punchline. The political process in this country has become the same for me - keep laughing or you'll dissolve into unrestrainable tears. Still, at least I watch the actual process. The delivery of the State of the Union - the only involvement the average American will have in Politics Today even carries little resemblance to actual politics. It means nothing in the end.

I'm starting to wonder if this is really the new age. Have we finally reached a point in society where we regard even the things we should hold most dear as a comedy of errors? Is there any hope left that America will ever recover from life after the First Kennedy?

I'm sorry, this post isn't particularly plotted, outlined or anything other than exhausted rambling and it most certainly isn't as quippy as I usually like to be but everyone is granted their moments of desperation.