PARIS IN JUNE
Yes...Paris in June...it conjures up romantic images, but this is a different Paris. I know, we are all sick of hearing about it and comedians and talking heads have had a field day with it. There is a sadness to it though, and I don't mean empathy for the rich child. There is a sadness to the fascination we have for the story, if there is indeed any fascination at all. As the brilliant comic Wanda Sykes noted, all this idiot has to do is sit back and be rich, and she can't even get that right. For God's sake, just get out of the limelight and count your blessings. Her father, Hilton Hotel magnate, was quoted as saying that "she's scared". So am I.
If in fact there is a substantial portion of the country that actually gives a hoot, why do we? In the face of so many serious issues, you know what they are, is there really time or necessity to ponder the outcome of Paris' dilemma? Are we really that culturally impotent? Part of me believes that the 24/7 media outlets which thrive on this kind of human flameout, inundates us with coverage and because televisions are on, there is the appearance of desire. I want to believe that most of us are above that, more concerned with the vitriol over immigration reform and the war, than with the pathetic sobbing of a pea-brained party-girl having a court-ordered time out. However, next time your at a red light, take a look around. Do you see faces that look as though they're tuned in? More often than not, I see an eclectic group. Maybe a mother with a few kids in the car, probably more consumed with making it through the day than with any global issues. Probably a few young Americans with pierced body parts and tatoos...definately not dialed in. More often than not, a smattering of souls who would be removing their sneakers at airport security. I have no idea what they might be thinking.
So, oddly enough, the picture of Paris drowning in tears while being whisked away in a limo, causes me concern over a much larger fate. I am not one of the knee-jerk alarmists, predicting the end of the world as we know it, but I do have some grave concerns for the future of our country. As we become more and more divided, as emotion increasingly clouds judgement and decision-making, and as the scales slowly tip towards the uninvolved, will we find ourselves in a completely different country than the one we grew up in? As a parent with young children, like many of you, I wonder and worry about what the future will look like. I wonder, too, if we are not approaching a place where we become kind of gridlocked. Consider the immigration fiasco and the war. The government seems unable to insitute change effectively. While we wait for Iraq's new government to start breathing without a ventilator, the example we are setting over here is dismal.
There is no reason why America should not set an example for the world. Our federal government should be a model for all. A lean, sleek insitution which is able to function with awe-inspiring results. Not the overweight, stumbling, corrupt and ineffective mess we have now. It would sure take some major housecleaning to turn it around, wouldn't it? In the meantime, the very least the rest of us can do is to send a message with our television remote. When the schlock purveyors are giving us something as vapid as Paris Hilton or Anna Nicole, shut it off or change the channel. In some way, we should feel a little guilty when our Brothers and Sisters in arms are sleeping in the dust half a world away. Afterall, if we want to live in a dignified society, that will require the members of that society to act with dignity.