Why People Hate Politics...

ABC has a huge 9/11 mini-series coming up for this Sunday and Monday night. It deals with the build up to the attacks of 9/11 and how the Clinton and Bush administrations dealt with Bin-Laden and Al-Qaeda. Many officials in the Clinton administration including Clinton himself are up in arms over supposed inconsistencies and falsehoods contained in the piece. Sen. Harry Reid and a few other Democratic Senators, including our own Sen. Stabenow, wrote a letter to Disney chief Robert Iger demanding the whole thing be pulled for being obvious right-wing propaganda.

I understand where they are coming from, but the letter the Senators put out there contains a really dangerous train of thought. Let me quote this so I don't misrepresent this...

"The Communications Act of 1934 provides your network with a free broadcast license predicated on the fundamental understanding of your principle obligation to act as a trustee of the public airwaves in serving the public interest. Nowhere is this public interest obligation more apparent than in the duty of broadcasters to serve the civic needs of a democracy by promoting an open and accurate discussion of political ideas and events."

You can read the whole letter here.

That is as dangerous as it is laughable. I don't want to get into specific politics here, but can't you see the danger. What is the public interest? I always thought the First Amendment was. Those Senators throwing that veiled threat around makes we worry. Does television now have to be okayed by politicians? I surely hope not. These are the same Senators that were up in arms over a decision a while back by CBS not to show "The Reagans" after a similar hissy fit by Republicans. Now they expect the same treatment because one of their great leaders is besmirched in a television movie. Maybe it is wrong, but maybe it isn't and if ABC doesn't represent this as the gospel they are doing nothing wrong.

Just to let it be known. I support any individual that thinks they have been misrepresented in this film rights to see that harm undone. I cannot not get behind our elected officials passing out threats because shows don't meet their standards. That is not their job, and it is frightening to think they think it is.

In the end it is all very hypocritical on both sides. It has nothing to do with facts or the public interest. It has to do with power and the shaping of our perceptions by those who have it. This is why people hate politics. Because nothing is sincere. If those same Senators spoke out about the Reagan movie then their opinion would hold weight. But they didn't. All they, and the Republicans before them proved, was that nothing really is sacred unless it can keep them in office.