IMHO

IN MY HUMBLE OPINION

I have had a revelation. The silent majority in this country has fallen asleep, and it's been asleep for years.

How did this happen? The media has hypnotized us...redirecting our attention, generating frenzy over 'American Idol', 'Survivor' reality shows, and '24'-style fantasy shows.

Sports generates great frenzy - excited, irrelevant, frenzy. How many of us can name the primary defense/offense players of our favorite football team, we know the managers, we can quote the standings, the odds of our team making the finals, or the Super Bowl/World Series. And what does this mean? What does this matter? How will the outcome affect our lives? It won't, and we're satisfied with that. (Granted, I'm not really into sports, so my terminology may be somewhat off.)

How many of us can name the U.S. Senators who represent our state? Our U.S. House Representative? It's not cool to know that. It's not cool to know what issues are being debated. It's a pariah to be politically aware. Where did this notion come from? What has lulled us into believing that football team standings matter, but Congressional bills don't?

It can't be language. The terminology and statistical computations of the sports world are every bit as complicated as the language and statistics quoted in the Congressional Record. What has conditioned the American public to plug in to sports, but not plug in to governance?

The American people are intelligent, but have been sung to sleep with a soothing lullaby. The American people have been distracted and indulged with attractive toys of amusement.

It is going to get ugly if we don't wake up soon.

My two cents.