When the sky is/isn't falling

Posted at 5:23 PM on November 3, 2010 by Bob Collins (4 Comments)
Filed under: Fresh Eye on the Radio (with Mary Lucia)

Hard as it is to believe, the polarization of America, which is in evidence today with various reactions to Tuesday's election, isn't that new. Back in the mid-'60s, the government raised the postage from 5 to 6 cents, meaning we replaced George Washington with Franklin Roosevelt. Though I was but a wee 10-year-old, I remember tales of the insistent swearing of a relative who refused to have his tongue touch Franklin Roosevelt. And so he stopped sending mail.

"What am I supposed to think? " my youngest (adult) son said to me in an e-mail today, after watching and listening to all the post-election rantings.

"It means that somewhere between everything you hear, is real life," I responded. "No matter what people tell you to think, keep working hard, do the best you can, do what you think is right, and everything else will take care of itself. If this country can survive new Coke, it can survive whatever good or bad anyone can throw at it."

It's a big world...

And that's today's conversation on The Current with Mary Lucia.

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Comments (4)

There is also always Monty Python.

Posted by MR | November 3, 2010 6:34 PM

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How can we have it both ways though? Here you say that the political process, ugly as it is, doesn't represent real life or the prevailing culture of our society.

On the other hand, news outlets of every stripe (including MPR) harp on the minor details of every political horserace every two years. There are countless debates, interviews, pre-election analysis, post-election analysis, etc.

So which is it? And how do we motivate people to vote if we are told the political process doesn't affect (or reflect) our lives?

Posted by Zebulun | November 4, 2010 8:43 AM

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//Here you say that the political process, ugly as it is, doesn't represent real life or the prevailing culture of our society.

Let me explain again. Politics is not a synonym for life. It is a part of life. But so is the snot coming out of a kid's nose or the guy who forgets to zip up his jeans (to use the video).

Posted by Bob Collins | November 4, 2010 9:32 AM

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Politics is also what governs life, in a sense. And yeah, it's a big world. It's a big beautiful world. But some in the White House only seem to care about those who are putting money in their pockets and pleasing big corporate interest. The bigger picture that you're describing is blemished by greed, corruption and very narrow mindedness. I get that you're saying not to focus on these tarnishes, but we can't turn away from what's going on either.

Posted by Shannon | November 4, 2010 10:30 AM

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