Warning: another political rant.
I will not be a sheep.
This morning, I decided to revisit the Dean speech from the Iowa caucuses. I looked it up on the Internet, and I watched it.
He yelled and grinned his way through most of it, and I thought, "Ok. For a guy who got 18%, you're awfully excited. I kinda like that." Then, he started naming off the states in that oh-so-famous sound bite. Rather than being horrified, I was actually rather impressed at his ability to rattle off his itinerary. Then came the scream. The scream. The much-lampooned oh-isn't-it-terrible, the he's-losing-control, that John-Cleese-in-Restaurant-Sketch scream.
"YEEEEEEEAAAAAHHHHHH!" Dean yowled.
"Um...now what was all the fuss about?" Allison queried.
Seriously, now, I was initially as horrified as the rest of you. All the news stations played the clip Tuesday, and my response was, "Oh, Lord, he's in for it." But now, as I see it again, I don't understand why I had that response. Yeah, he's fiery and impassioned. A little overly so, perhaps...but I don't get how the media immediately decided he was insane.
This, now, is the part where I realize the power of the media. If the media decides it doesn't like somebody, he's doomed. I'm not going to tell you the media is conservative. It's not. However, it's certainly not liberal, as Mr. Limbaugh would have his dittoheads believe. The media bounces from side to side.
When the media talks, people listen. We believe our talking heads. Magazines and critics told us Seinfeld wasn't crap, and a lot of us eagerly concurred. Carson Daly decided it was okay for white boys to use terms like "bling-bling" and "g-dog," and, unfortunately, a good number of us believed him. You know what? Seinfeld sucked. White kids should leave hip-hop slang to people who can actually pull it off and look cool. The obvious conclusion? The media lies to us.
I'd link to the speech, but I can't figure out how I found it. If you can, though, I encourage you to watch it again. Watch openmindedly, and forget how disgusted you're supposed to be. Maybe you'll come to the same conclusion that I did. Changing your mind is good for you. Embrace your epiphany. (Quick note: doesn't that sound like a good title for a nu-metal album?)
Maybe I'm crazy myself. Perhaps the speech still sounds terrible. It could be that I'm just blinded by my own political loyalty. I don't care. I will not be a sheep.
I will not be a sheep.
This morning, I decided to revisit the Dean speech from the Iowa caucuses. I looked it up on the Internet, and I watched it.
He yelled and grinned his way through most of it, and I thought, "Ok. For a guy who got 18%, you're awfully excited. I kinda like that." Then, he started naming off the states in that oh-so-famous sound bite. Rather than being horrified, I was actually rather impressed at his ability to rattle off his itinerary. Then came the scream. The scream. The much-lampooned oh-isn't-it-terrible, the he's-losing-control, that John-Cleese-in-Restaurant-Sketch scream.
"YEEEEEEEAAAAAHHHHHH!" Dean yowled.
"Um...now what was all the fuss about?" Allison queried.
Seriously, now, I was initially as horrified as the rest of you. All the news stations played the clip Tuesday, and my response was, "Oh, Lord, he's in for it." But now, as I see it again, I don't understand why I had that response. Yeah, he's fiery and impassioned. A little overly so, perhaps...but I don't get how the media immediately decided he was insane.
This, now, is the part where I realize the power of the media. If the media decides it doesn't like somebody, he's doomed. I'm not going to tell you the media is conservative. It's not. However, it's certainly not liberal, as Mr. Limbaugh would have his dittoheads believe. The media bounces from side to side.
When the media talks, people listen. We believe our talking heads. Magazines and critics told us Seinfeld wasn't crap, and a lot of us eagerly concurred. Carson Daly decided it was okay for white boys to use terms like "bling-bling" and "g-dog," and, unfortunately, a good number of us believed him. You know what? Seinfeld sucked. White kids should leave hip-hop slang to people who can actually pull it off and look cool. The obvious conclusion? The media lies to us.
I'd link to the speech, but I can't figure out how I found it. If you can, though, I encourage you to watch it again. Watch openmindedly, and forget how disgusted you're supposed to be. Maybe you'll come to the same conclusion that I did. Changing your mind is good for you. Embrace your epiphany. (Quick note: doesn't that sound like a good title for a nu-metal album?)
Maybe I'm crazy myself. Perhaps the speech still sounds terrible. It could be that I'm just blinded by my own political loyalty. I don't care. I will not be a sheep.
posted by Allison at
2:39 PM
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