THE LAST POLITICAL BLOG...FOR A GOOD, LONG WHILE

Either I'm on a path toward more prolonged happiness, or I'm just too fed-up to waste otherwise positive energy ruminating on the operations of the body politic, and media coverage of same.

In days gone past, I would have attributed this to the deep, abiding cynicism that invaded my psyche as a young man. Not now. I look at things too clearly. Instead of the accusatory and judgemental "They," I use the inclusive "we," because every human being is capable of the same lapses and foibles. Not everybody has the fondness for, or sense of history I posses. That's just a personal idiosyncrasy. Just about everyone, however, tends to view politics pejoratively, now...but not for the same reasons.

In my case, it's a realization that the benign civics lessons we try and teach children combine fact and apocryphal. Ours is a republic, with candidates elected to represent our interests, etc. Lifelong immersion in the machinations of government, governing and campaigning for said, reveal a filthy process. Millions remain blissfully ignorant of the dirt, and how the manipulation and exploitation are used to make ordinarily decent people vote against their own interests and the interests of the nation on a whole.

The individuals most susceptible to this are my age--the guy at the half-century mark, frustrated because life hasn't been all he'd hoped it would be. As disappointment, the rigors of child-rearing, divorce, job loss, aging, et al, build up, the interest in politics and the rants begin--against taxes, government, races, genders...issues that they'd never given a living shit about start to make their bile bubble up.

Decent people, by and large. Good human beings who still believe that a candidate or a party embody what they stand for: God, Country, and Family Values, dammit! The salt of the earth, who faithfully absorb the opinion that passes for news or fact, not knowing their inner fears and fires are being cynically stoked, and their religious fervor is being whipped up in a revival tent larger than the Caribbean Sea.

I'm not that guy. At 5-0 plus 1, now, I'm fatigued with having my buttons pushed. I was interested in politics at 13, when at the same age, many of these other fellows were smoking dope and sneaking out of their bedroom windows late at night (there'd have been hell to pay had I tried either). I read Time or Newsweek, watch some of the talking-head shows, and realize the agitation is not worth it. And there is continual agitation. Thirty years of being involved in broadcasting teaches one that all reporting is not intended to be informative. Much is written to churn up a maelstrom. The panel shows are there to pit two ideologues against one another, not to come to a resolution, but to bang heads, cause sparks, and create ratings.

Politics. Inflame and assail. Foment hate and derision. Governing? Stop the other guy by any means necessary. Party loyalty? Republicans found the power of the pulpit 30 years ago. Somehow, in a world of all-too-human hypocrisy, fundamentalism cohabitates with cold ambition and lock-step uniformity. Democrats, liberal, progressive, willing to fight for issues concerning something other than personal gain, show human weakness of their own: They lack the desire to piss off the guys who are being whipped into a frenzy by the Republicans. And the G.O.P. plays offense much better than Democrats play defense. The hostility chip that seems to operate in conservative ideology is not present in liberals, not where politics is concerned. Thus the difference in approaches, and results.

Me? I have watched and read and written of the political world, and have seen a man with actual intelligence elected overwhelmingly to the Presidency. How often can you say that? JFK had those smarts, that charisma. You have to be over 55 to remember his brief years in office, and his assassination obscures the fact that he was cautious about much, stymied by congress, and loathed by crackpots. Imagine if they'd know what he was hiding (poor health, probably sex addiction)?

Does that all sound familiar? JFK had major newspapers and (essentially) two and a half television networks to contend with. President Obama has millions of internet bloggers, and a channel that masquerades as a news organization, while decimating the complete agenda of his opposition (Fox). On cable, at least, objectivity (CNN) means playing devil's advocate. The so-called lefties (MSNBC, after sunset) give Obama grief as well. A cerebral President who uses his scholarly resolve is not popular among the hot-headed motormouths who need a constant vortex whirling to provide content.

The problem is, fellows my age still look at TV and Radio as the voice of official fact and reason. They're neither. They are hell-bent on creating conflict that equals ratings, that equal money. Period. Otherwise, how could broadcasters with a modicum of intelligence take Sarah Palin seriously? The history of popular culture in our country is riddled with characters like her, whose glibness hides an insidious, venal, covetousness. The kind we're told is sinful. How many parents tell their kids to finish what they started? How many of these same parents now worship at the feet of this person who resigned elective office to go make money, then (I'll bet) run for yet a higher office. Do our like minded opinions spin us into denial, as far as politicians are concerned? Do people need a leader to believe in so badly they'll inhale whatever hot air is blown in their direction?

Apparently so. And in a world where ex-Disc Jockeys evolve into talk-show hosts, sometimes appropriating political talking points they don't believe, getting riled up is no longer worth it. I take verapmil and atenlol to control blood pressure. My own radio career is held in limbo, and essentially I'm alone. Is the current body politic (with only the new media making it different from what's gone on in politics since the Roman senate) worth the agitation.

I say no. And look toward a little more happiness in life.

HEY LAAAAAAAAAAADY!!!

Many of you will read this once the holiday is over. You may or may not have seen 84-year old Jerry Lewis cry and drop his pants once more, in his honorable, never-ending, herculean effort to raise funds for the MDA, and find a cure for these dreaded diseases. I no longer watch. Besides getting sick of politics, I've gotten sick of telethons, and would rather send a donation than suffer the maudlin proceedings. Telethons used to be entertaining. Now they use the same marketing techniques as any other business that wants to attack your emotions and separate you from money. I'll send my check (If I don't, Jerry will send envelopes all year, anyway), but will take a pass on the pathos.