Some of you may remember a time long ago when there was a country called the U.S.S.R. for a time we were the foil for that country, and we sat atop the world as a superpower constantly sharpening our blades in a cold war. This was an incredible time for both media and politics, but the power of both was so concentrated that precious few got fat off the stories. In today’s poli-media mine field there are so many channels and stories and entities looking to cash in that every story is exploded to the point where it is made to seem like the most important story in the world. Likewise, every pundit wants you to hang on their every word, so they say unreasonable things just to get airplay.
Recently Ted Nugent caused a stir because he called our president a mongrel, and was then brought on the campaign trail by a fellow running for office. Nugent is a mouthy prick, but giving him airtime over what was obviously an angry racist blowing off steam is counterproductive and foolish. The same can be said about Al Sharpton or Sarah Palin. These are pundits: individuals who exist to say, ‘I told you so’ and to try to maneuver those in power into making stupid decisions, just to call off the media hounds. Our president is dealing with that in regards to the Crimea situation. All the pundits on the ‘other side of the aisle’ are demanding he play hardball and aren’t considering the fact that hardball leads to war.
The Russians are dealing with the same stuff we are, but it isn’t the media that is pushing them. Instead, the power elite of Russia are looking to sink their teeth into the parts of the U.S.S.R. their parents lost and a few screams from the Americans about the ‘consequences’ only serve to beat the drums of war. I hope to never experience a world war in my lifetime. I don’t think we are remotely near that point, but the media keeps trying to convince me it is a distant possibility.