Getting in Touch With the People

I pretty much spent the last week helping people change their addresses. Part of my activities found me driving a U-Haul truck from the Philadelphia area to Indianapolis. The truck was equipped with a radio -- AM and FM, both! -- and nothing else, so I listened to a lot more radio than I usually do. This radio had a "seek" function, which was handy. At one point in west central Ohio, Mr. Seek gave me a Christian station. I didn't note the call letters, although I'm sure they were given more than once. On the station at the time was what sounded like a syndicated talk show. Again, I'm sure the host-talker must have given his name, or at least his stage name, incessantly, but I seem to have ignored that, too. Oh, well. What I did notice was how comprehensively he covered the bases. Whenever anything bad (defined as anything inconvenient to official U.S. interests) happens anywhere in the world, it's because of state-sponsored terrorism; and the primary state sponsor of terrorism is ... anyone want to guess? That's right, Iran. It's them Iranians, is the ones is doin' it, whatever "it" happens to be. And that Wikileaks guy, that Assange: well, you know, a fair trial, followed by a first-class hangin'. The Kenyan's a SOCIALIST (never mind that he administers the same corporate policies as his predecessor, and for that matter the same as anyone else who has ever been, or will ever be, within shouting distance of the famous Oval Office). Dubya was lots better, but still not all that good, since he failed to get Iran invaded on his watch. Not a reliable warmonger, you see.

In the hour-plus I spent listening to this fine Christian station, I didn't hear any presentation of the Gospel. Big surprise, huh?

And then this morning, while I'm doing my contact-lens installation, C-SPAN's on. It's the call-in segment, with some NBC political analyst as a guest. (Didn't get his name either, I'm afraid.) The general topic seems to be Whose Fault It All Is, with the "It" being the no-manufacturing U.S. economy. The People were calling in at a brisk rate. For the most part, it was as you'd expect: the red-jersey people blame the donkeys, and the blue-jersey folks the elephants. One guy was upset because the corporations get bailed out, but the Little People don't. It occurred to me that he has a point ... but whose fault is that? As long as the Little People are divertable by foreign wars, and governable by corporate tools, why would it be otherwise?