Why I Hate Politics

And the media, too.

Here’s what brought on this delightful post. Last night, soaking in a hot tub and nursing my throbbing flu-induced headache, I came across this historical factoid in a book. During the last year of World War II, the Japanese decided in a somewhat desperate fashion to attack the US mainland in a somewhat novel way. They launched hundreds of helium balloons loaded with as much explosives that they could carry, and let the Pacific trade winds blow them over the western coast of the US. Some actually traveled as far into the interior of the country as Michigan. The idea was to terrorize the American civilian population with these random balloon attacks and force a change in US war policy.

Now this is the memorable part: In an effort to thwart this Japanese plan, American newspapers, at the request of the US government, voluntary held back reporting on any of these “balloon attacks.” Nothing was reported. So, not only had a possible panic been averted in our mainland, the Japanese were also unsuccessful in evaluating the effectiveness of their project. As a result, they gave up, and not much ever became of their nefarious scheme. And we in this day and age in general don’t even know this ever happened.

I thought the whole thing was interesting and enlightening, especially the collusion between the government and the media for the perceived greater good of the nation. For the success of the war effort. I reflect on the past eight years under Bush and the War on Terror and the visceral hatred for the president by the media, and how such a collusion could never ever happen today. Is this good or bad? Now, I have many problems with Bush and the ill-named War on Terror, but I also have many problems with the dishonest agenda of the media in this nation, too. Overall, though, in terms of pure safety of the populace (one of the few legitimate reasons for the existence of government) I think it’s bad, and shameful as well. Ideology triumphs over the safety and security of me and you, and of our families. Ideology from both the right and the left, because it isn’t about safety and security. It’s simply about power - getting it and maintaining it.

Anecdote I read (and, sorry, can’t remember where, otherwise I’d source it) so take it for what it’s worth: a man’s friend was a foreigner working in this country who eventually became a citizen. The man asked his friend what was the most striking thing about America, as compared to the country where the friend grew up, expecting something along the lines of pure wonderment about our material utopia. Instead, the friend said, “It is simply amazing how much propaganda you Americans are exposed to every day and don’t even realize it.”

I’m coming to believe more and more that’s true, and it’s one of the main reason I abhor politics and the media.