I think there was a clue in The Daily Show tonight of the reason Jon Stewart is leaving and it was the word "relentless."
The Relentless Hate Machine Which Churns Fear and Divisiveness. My words for Fox "news", Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, and their ilk. Jon spoke of the unending use of the word "liberal" as some sort of catch-all for all that's not Christian and American exceptionalism, and he used the word "relentless."
And that's what I think his job is, relentless. It must be an exhausting task to be the voice that brings light to all that is hypocritical and wrong in this country, no matter how well one does it. No wonder he needs a break from it.
Which brings me back to the Midwest. The kettle of paranoia and suspicion has been churned in what was once considered a fairly liberal state, Iowa. I will put the responsibility squarely on Fox "news" and its "relentless" propaganda machine. I see it on televisions in restaurants and homes with alarming regularity. I wonder if people hear what they are being fed. This churning, churning, churning of a faux outrage with an agenda fueled by the Koch brothers, the far right, and the monied interest that has no interest in these people except to see how far they can exploit them.
In my last Midwest Diary entry, I spoke of the prayer thanking God said before each meal in the little school that I am working at. This preschool/daycare has no affiliation to organized religion. And this is my question. Why? Why do they do this?
I have already distinguished myself as some kind of free-thinker and a curious outsider. I have had baffling and frustrating conversations about the freedom of choice, climate change, and worker's rights.
So this is the conversation I cannot have. Why is there an assumption here that everyone is Christian and that everyone does and should believe in God? I am learning that there are things here that I should only observe, and keep my thoughts (for now) to myself.
i can identify now with the cold Elle; having been in a freezing cold Michigan for three months with no thaw and a temp hovering around 20 and factoring into that anything up to another -20 of wind chill when those lakes get goin'; it's not easy... :-(
ReplyDeletethere were times when i was out on foot where i seriously feared for my life because of the cold, or at the best, frostbite. no not just that "wing it, it's a bit cold out here", but seriously seriously OMG i need to just jump into the nearest PNC bank or something, not to die...
it was a dichotomy how the roads were efficiently cleared and gritted, even private entrances of malls, scrupulously cleared (for litigation purposes no doubt), but the most important bits, the apexes of the kerbs on the pavements by the roads were treacherous to say the least, looking like the Alps and just as dangerous.
i guess the US is a 99% car-led country, but with petrol at 2 bucks (as opposed to TWELVE here), they are what they are...
also, i have to laugh, you gotta auto engine start for a nice warm cab ready for you whilst finishing your coffee in starbucks, but no Quckclear front windscreens, so you still have to scrape, or drive off with zero visibility, albeit toasty warm...