In irony we trust

LA Times ^ | Oct. 29, 2010 | Will Bunch

[Second Amendment First]

If you take them at their Facebook word, at least 223,609 people plan to attend the Jon Stewart/Stephen Colbert "Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear" on the National Mall in Washington on Saturday. According to enthusiastic posters on the social network site, the rally is either a) "the start of a massive, powerful movement … to turn back the vehement, reactionary discourse in this country" or b) "very much like a music festival."

But then, absurdity is certain to abound when thousands of Americans rally in the shadow of the Capitol dome — just four days before a hotly contested midterm election — to mostly make this grand political statement: In irony we trust.

*

When King and his fellow marchers returned home from the Mall to the Deep South 47 years ago, they knew they faced nightsticks or worse on the rocky road toward the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Today, the challenge facing rallygoers is, as Stewart suggests, asking "the sitter if she can stay a few extra hours, just this once."

Ultimately, it will be those kids at home who learn the history of whether 2010 was just an autumn of harmless entertainment or the throes of a nation amusing itself to death.

[Second Amendment First]

This was predicted a quarter of a century ago by a remarkably prescient pundit, Neil Postman. In 1985, the year after George Orwell's dystopia did not exactly happen, the late New York University academic and media critic published "Amusing Ourselves to Death," which argued that the greater threat to serious democratic discourse would not come from Orwellian censorship but from TV entertainment "values" that would act as a mind-numbing drug. "Western democracies," Postman wrote, "will dance and dream themselves into oblivion."

[dirtboy]

Bunch is a liberal idjut from Philly who spends much of his time sliming the Tea Party movement and spewing Dem talking points. Not sure how he got over to the LA Times.

[Texas Eagle]

Who is Jon Stewart/Steven Colbert?

They like a gay married pair in a sitcom or something?

[hampdenkid]

The mainstream media will try to paint this as a highly significant political rally. But, it is really just an entertainment event with top stars to draw a crowd. A circus. And don’t be surprised if the biggest clown of all puts in an “unexpected” appearance.

[sbMKE]

As they get ready to nuke the economy with massive tax increases via the Bush tax cut expiration, and prepare to roll out eugenics via Obamacare to cull the herd - the ghouls decide that a party of clowns is the best way to top it all off.

Ghouls each and every one.

[listenhillary]

Today, the challenge facing rallygoers is, as Stewart suggests, asking "Is there a sh*tter?"

[PGR88]

This was predicted a quarter of a century ago by a remarkably prescient pundit, Neil Postman.

A very good book. I still look through it occassionally. I also liked his book "The End of Education" particularly about how many public schools have abandoned any attempt to make us all Americans and give everyone a binding ethos.