To Hell. In Handbasket.

What does it mean...

When the word “lockdown” is used more frequently at high schools than it is in prisons?

When almost everyone knows how to use “redacted” in a sentence?

When the memoirs of a Washington, DC matron are published with whole chunks blacked out -- redacted -- and people seem barely to notice or comment?

When the host of a morally suspect and artistically bankrupt television show is fired because of something said in a private telephone conversation?

When the powers that be debate the definition of “torture”?

This is me being cheery this morning. (Irony intended.)

Though I can say without irony that I seriously have to stop watching the news.

Comments

Clea Simon said…
OK, this is me being Pollyanna. At least we're talking about torture. At least a topic like rendition is being discussed in middle America (for 15 minutes after the movie ends, anyway). And good for whatsername for going to press with really minor crap blanked out - rather than just editing it out - which shows just how trivial and penne ante the CIA can be. Yes, we're flying express in a handbasket. But maybe, just maybe, many of us have begun to notice it, which is a first step.
Sandra Ruttan said…
I had a long conversation last night with someone, and in it they raised the thought that it was amazing that Baltimore (via The Wire) has become symbolic of America and that people everywhere seem able to relate to it, to the corruption from City Hall to the police department to the criminals on the streets.

And then recently in an interview I was asked why people found it so easy to believe in corrupt cops.

Many years ago, people never challenged authority. They did as told. The few who rose in opposition usually became martyrs. But through knowledge comes power, an opportunity to the masses to chart their own destiny. We have access to more information than ever before, which perhaps deludes us into thinking we can obtain justice in every situation. As Clea is indicating, we're actually fortunate to live in a society where such things can be expressed and discussed - even in short order - without the fear of the police coming in the middle of the night. The risk of freedom is always abuse, and this is prevalent in our society, but I would rather that than a police state.
My point, if I have one, is this: sure, talk is good, but it's also cheap. Don't just let it be "the news." React to it, wrestle with it, think about what it means. There are odd, odd things going on in the world. It's good to ask questions, to wonder why certain things are brought to our attention and why other (perhaps more important) things, are not. It's never bad to question. And it can be too easy to accept.
Clea Simon said…
Linda - I'm all for acting on the info. I'm not saying that talk alone is enough. Nor was I simply celebrating our freedom to discuss it (but thanks for the support anyway, Sandra). I'm just glad that we're past the point of accepting authority blindly (at least, some of us are). I think seeing abuse is the first step to stopping abuse (sort of the opposite of acknowledging that we have no control over forces, etc. etc. etc.).

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