I'm sick of the stage-managed interviews.
I'm sick of the press briefings where Scottie McClellan and George repeat the same bromides question after question.
I'm sick of the invitation-only "town-hall meetings" and the people who eject participants for not having the right bumper sticker.
I'm sick of the "video news releases" produced by the government to look like local news.
I'm sick of the televised "major speeches" that turn out to contain nothing new.
I'm sick of government employees and servicemen being used as props.
I'm sick of the Imperial Presidency that takes offense at uncomfortable questions. "How dare they ask such a question...?"
I'm sick of the journalists who can only ask difficult questions by prefacing it by "Some Democrat has been saying...". (see Matt Lauer on Gulf Coast for example).
I'm sick of the audience-participation-style State of the Union addresses.
I'm not the only one who's sick of it. America is getting sick of it. America is sick of the corruption, the Abramoff's, the DeLays, the Mike Browns, but it's getting just as tired of the
Big Charade. It's time that we demand better. It's time that we demand some semblance of open thought and debate. Democracy isn't just a matter of going to the polls every two years. It's a process by which a nation can collectively make decisions in an open environment. Instead we have no debate in Congress, backroom deals hammered out in conference, and bills passed before anyone has read them, let alone debated them. Then faked news report to convince us of how everything is fine and press briefings which consist of the Talking Point Catechism. Our democracy is
broken in many, many ways. We need dramatic change in how our government functions and how it communicates with us. The first step on a road to renewal is to demand a stop to the most blatant charades.
- No more invitation-only town halls.
- No more coached interviews.
- Reporters shouldn't allow anyone to demand the questions in advance.
- No more using people, especially government employees, as props behind speeches.
- No more propaganda-style news releases.
Who is going to speak out? We need to encourage our leaders to speak out. Some of our political and civic leaders have been speaking about this, but they need to get out there and speak with one voice and demand a change. We need to encourage those who have spoken for change and prod those who have stayed on the sideline.