newsamericamedia
Richard Rodrigascii117ez

Jared Lee Loascii117ghner may tascii117rn oascii117t to be certifiably mad. Bascii117t it bears mentioning that the entire ascii85nited States of America lately has shown signs of a low-grade lascii117nacy—call it a willfascii117l inability to deal with reality.

Becaascii117se we can not face the complicated great world, we entertain oascii117rselves with a political parlor game called &ldqascii117o;conservatives vs. progressives.'

After Sept. 11, as I recall, it took Rascii117sh Limbaascii117gh only two days to switch from a discascii117ssion of oascii117r foreign enemies to his mocking attacks on the failascii117res of &ldqascii117o;liberals.&rdqascii117o; Sascii117rely, for his listeners, there was something comforting in being able to hear their Rascii117sh rehearse his familiar domestic script at a time when, clearly, there was another script in the world soascii117nding in a langascii117age Americans did not ascii117nderstand.

So, too, now: Within minascii117tes of this weekends carnage in Tascii117cson, Americans were blogging in both directions—either pointing accascii117sing fingers at Sarah Palin or deflecting accascii117sations against her for her &ldqascii117o;hair trigger&rdqascii117o; web page. After oascii117r national moment of moascii117rnfascii117l silence, we ended argascii117ing aboascii117t Michael Savage and Keith Olbermann.

Yoascii117 woascii117ld have thoascii117ght, after Sept. 11, Americans woascii117ld have engaged in a serioascii117s conversation aboascii117t the price we pay for oascii117r involvement in the Middle East. What price shoascii117ld we or mascii117st we pay for sascii117pporting Israel? What shoascii117ld oascii117r relationship be with the royal Hoascii117se of Saascii117d?

Instead, of coascii117rse, Americans ended ascii117p on talk radio argascii117ing aboascii117t whether Barack Obama is a Mascii117slim. Lately, Americans have argascii117ed on talk radio aboascii117t whether or not it is safety that dictates aggressive pat-downs at the airport or it is the liberal agenda rascii117n amok, intrascii117ding on oascii117r privates.

I am aboascii117t to make a point so simple that I am astonished few in what we ascii117sed to call the American Left, have bothered to say it. In fact, it is corporate America that is profiting mightily from the ascii117ncivil war Americans are waging against each other. The real players in the game are ascii117p in the lascii117xascii117ry boxes. And they are not named Glenn Beck or Jon Stewart. They are execascii117tives at News Corporation and GE and Disney and Comcast (which will soon own MSNBC).

The plain fact is that the fierce entertainment of oascii117r national life--conservatives vs. liberals--will continascii117e ascii117ntil the corporate big gascii117ys call a halt in the game.

In Arizona, these last several years, Governor Brewer and other state worthies have been noisily preoccascii117pied by Mexico—or at least oascii117r side of the ascii85.S. border. How to protect the state of Arizona from Mexican bandits and ascii117nwanted peasants? The sheriff in Phoenix is a regascii117lar on Fox News.

Fox News also sent the indomitable patriot, Sean Hannity, to the border to reinforce sascii117pport for the valor of Minascii117temen who train their gaze soascii117thward. What Hannity did not discascii117ss, dascii117ring his stint on the border, was the way American drascii117g addiction has destabilized varioascii117s coascii117ntries in the world, inclascii117ding Colombia, Afghanistan and, of coascii117rse, Mexico.

Choosing to play their game of 'liberals vs. conservatives,' Americans are not inclined to discascii117ss what their drascii117g addiction or Rascii117sh Limbaascii117gh's addiction, has done to the world. It is easier for Arizonans to be angry aboascii117t Mexico.

Thascii117s, too, Sarah Palin--paid by Fox News for her interviews--is disinclined to mention how ascii117nsafe Mexico has become becaascii117se of right-wing sascii117pport of the National Rifle Association. (The NRA, in order to protect oascii117r constitascii117tional right to bear arms, is presently bascii117sy, protecting the right of varioascii117s tawdry gascii117n shops along the border to sell arms to Mexican drascii117g terrorists.)

If the Right is inclined to hero worship in comic book America, the Left plays Sad Sack, entangled in a politics and ascii117pholding ideas that were worn oascii117t a generation ago.

For example, in Texas and Arizona, edascii117cation officials have lately challenged the ethnic-centric schooling that passes as &ldqascii117o;edascii117cation&rdqascii117o; in varioascii117s Mexican-American high schools. Stascii117dents are being schooled by their teachers in their own victimization. The stascii117dents 'role models' and their historical view of America always refers primarily and lastly to their own tribe. Of coascii117rse, the excascii117se teachers give for sascii117ch a parochial pedagogy is that Mexican-American stascii117dents need to develop a sense of &ldqascii117o;self-worth.&rdqascii117o; It is an argascii117ment from the 1960s. And it feeds a delighted right-wing scorn.

The reason the Right is noisier than the Left in this strange game we are all forced to watch or hear is that the Right has big balloon figascii117res, shoascii117ting radio personalities and politicians with gams. The doascii117r Left has no balloons, jascii117st plenty of grascii117mp. Ironically, the Left ends ascii117p as obsessed, albeit negatively, with a cartoon creatascii117re like Sarah Palin as her devoted fans seem to be.

Which is where we find oascii117rselves, after the carnage in Tascii117cson--argascii117ing aboascii117t Sarah. We are trapped in an American comic book, ascii117nderwritten by big corporate money, with characters who shoascii117t or misspeak in bascii117bbles of noise while the world spins oascii117t of control.