I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing that over the last few weeks I've felt more poltically aware than ever before. Actually, I think 'socially-aware' is the more accurate description. It's not so much the subjects themselves as the way that people (news stations and the greater populace) have reacted to the subjects; the way that events and attitudes have almost grown out of proportion to each other, feeding themsleves like an ourboros snake of vitriolic proportions.
As before, the whole 'mosque' debate seems to be the touch-paper. I mentioned in the last blog entry about the way that certain lies have been perpetuated to make the points when the facts themselves didn't quite do justice to the passion behind them. That such misinformation doesn't do the cause they attempt to justify any favours... that if an argument can't be made with facts (or at least vaguely supported opinions), then Celene Dion is singing and the ship is already sinking. Iceberg, Ho.
But what are the ACTUAL effects of that? One one hand you could argue that people's belief systems just get a little skewed - that if they don't seek out the bigger picture, they'll merely snuggle up in the apathetic armchair and parrot the latest pundit's words of wit. Let Glenn Beck do the pudgy little leg-work.
Which would be a bad enough kind of self-harm in itself. Unless you judge it against THIS. Watch as a few seconds into some video footage, this happens:
The man in question was a worker at Ground Zero and walking through the crowd merely looking at what was going on. Within seconds there are degrading comments about 'his religion' and shouts of 'Run, coward!' as he makes his way out. A big guy in a faux worker's hat barrels through to try and physically confront him and it's only the intervention of the the pedestrian's friend and a savvy event organiser that stops this getting any more uglier than it is. All the while, the crowd continues chanting and trying to surround him.
And you just know that even when the pedestrian's story is revealed later and - guess what - that he's not even of that faith, that the excuse from the masses will be 'Well, he LOOKED muslim!' You want to stop there for a second and read that excuse again? Please. Your fallback postion and defence is going to be that you were acting aggressively to someone because you THOUGHT he was of a certian religion? "Honestly, officer, what's the problem...I was only picking on him because I thought he was a faggot.... Sorry, my mistake, I'm a God-fearing Christian my wrath was only meant to be directed at real niggers..." Ouch? Yes, some of those words still sting, because socially we're supposed to be past that. We're supposed to be... what was it again, ah yes... civilised.
And I'm afraid that when news networks put out inflammatory bulletins that don't reflect the bigger picture, that breed fear and panic and distrust of someone you never met simply because someone THEY never met did something bad, then THIS is what happens... and justified indignation isuddenly sn't just reserved for those who commit crimes but for those that, y'know, MIGHT, for those that, well, COULD and for those who make a very convenient scapegoat for other agendas. Look.. watch my left hand and don't ask what my right hand is doing (though, I think we can guess).
The likes of the Anti-Park 51 demonstrators and the Tea Party events may well have certain issues that they feel justified in raising. More power to them. Nothing bad can come from a truly good debate and the world is better for those discussions. March if you must, but be careful of the zombie cheerleaders.
But until the networks stop throwing poisoned scraps to the masses and until those more honest and intelligent demonstrators demand that the fringe elements - who utterly discredit them with epiphets, violence, bigotry and truly horrible spelling - be exorcised from their midst, then you will have been hijacked all over again.
But with words not box-cutters.
