The events of the last few weeks have left many Americans anxious and fearful. Nothing stirs emotions quite like losing money. And Americans have lost a boatload. The financial gains they’ve made over the last 5 -10 years have disappeared. Seniors on fixed incomes are reassessing retirement and many will have to return to work. More and more jobs are being lost. No doubt, this has been tough and it will probably get much tougher.
But in the last week we’ve seen fear start to bubble to the surface as anger. We’ve seen it in a number of political rallies. Faithful supporters screaming at the top of their lungs, calling for tougher language, and in some cases violence. Some have suggested it’s reminiscent of other dark periods in our history.
Even the press has subtly jumped in on the action. CNN has introduced on Anderson Cooper 360 a feature called 10 Most Wanted:Culprits of the Collapse. On each of ten nights they feature a different baron of Wall Street or Fed official pictured on a wanted poster. It’s wrapped in a western motif, usually reserved in the 1800’s for train robbers and murderers. CNN even includes a nifty graphic element; as each bandito appears on their respective wanted poster, a gun sight cross hair descends over their face. I’m not sure, but maybe CNN and Anderson Cooper are suggesting we round these guys up, grab a rope and exact a little frontier justice.
We may be inching toward something potentially dangerous. When events like these create real fear and we add the element of rage, it inevitably leads to violence. You don’t have to go too far back to see the results of rampaging violence that was stoked by fear and anger. Germany is the obvious benchmark, but many other examples can be traced to virtually every corner of the globe. It’s something in our DNA, that once unleashed can take the loss of assets and turn it into the loss of life.
These are dangerous times, but having the press stoke the fire doesn’t help. If you disagree, drop me a line. If you agree, let Anderson Cooper know. Here’s a link.
Comments 1
Thank y you for a well reasoned calm post on this. I have worried that the people 360 name may not be the actual ones to blame. Its not like they are doing a legal investigation on each of these folks. For a news team to name names without letting the accused have their say is a lot like western lynch mobs.
SM Pratt
Posted 13 Oct 2008 at 5:56 am ¶Trackbacks & Pingbacks 1
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