I have said that we live in a
“microwave society” these days wanting everything around us to be
done quickly and just as we had expected it to be done and if the
truth be known, it would reveal that we are very often disappointed.
And, maybe we are disappointed not because our expectations were not
met but because our expectations are the only values on which we have
to base our lives these days.
As I have mentioned before, when I was
growing up half a century ago, we had heroes such as:
- Jackie Robinson (baseball)
- Rocky Marciano (boxing)
- Rock Hudson (actor)
And, these heroes were painted by the
social media (such as it was back then) as without blemish or scandal
and therefore became the way every boy our age wanted to behave in
terms of what they wore, what they said, and what they represented.
It was a wholesome time in most communities and we were all raised
under an aura of innocence.
Today's heroes, like:
- Lance Armstrong (cycling)
- Pete Rose (baseball)
- Bill Cosby (actor, comedian)
all were once heroes like those of my
childhood but because of scandals and less than role model behavior
have fallen by the wayside as someone that our youth of today do not
want to emulate.
And yet, if we were to dig deeper into
our heroes of the 1950's we would find that they were no so squeaky
clean either; in fact, they might have been dirtier than our heroes
of today have been discovered to be...
So, how is this possible?
Former President John F. Kennedy was
notorious for his numerous adulterous activities with other females,
including but not limited to Marilyn Monroe, and yet for the general
public these were perceived as unfounded rumors, manufactured by his
critics, so for the most part they were ignored.
In part, it was the powerful Kennedy
family who was able to keep these events from scoring big headlines
in the press but more importantly, the reporters of those days seemed
to have better things to report on than political scandals here at
home.
And part of the reason for the change
is due to CNN News out of Atlanta which was referred to Chicken
Noodle News out of Atlanta when it first started. It was 24 hour
news that particularly catered to those 2nd and 3rd
shift workers that were all over America that first shift workers
never thought anything about and in many cases simply did not think
that they existed... and yet, their services were all around us in
law enforcement, fire departments, and hospitals.
Along with CNN News were the growing
popularity of various scandal magazine that were for sale at most
grocery stores in their check out lines for people to look at as they
waited in line.
Mainstream media had no choice but to
follow the example of CNN and when they did, political scandals as
well as almost anything else became news worthy targets to justify
the air time and incidents and events that were once over looked or
swept under the carpet could no longer be treated that way. In fact,
journalist, lead by their mentors in journalism at 60 Minutes, went
after anything and everything they could hoping to find something
“juicy” to report, and passes were no longer given to
anybody.
These days, it is difficult to know who
the heroes and villains really are as it seems some villains are
heroes and some heroes are villains and those we no longer remember
could, in fact, be classified as both.
“Bonnie and Clyde” for example for
considered vicious killers and yet many people help them and tried to
protect them from the law and by the time Hollywood finished with
their true story, they were seen a cult heroes because they stood up
to the law and Americans in general seem to like that quality.
African American protesters during the
50's, 60's, & 70's were considered outlaws because they protested
the laws of the land as they related to equality and in 2015 we give
these heroes awards because of the bravery and tenacity to stand up
against the laws of the land... all of which I find rather amazing
while at the same time predictable American behavior, especially
among self-imposed guilty Caucasians.
Snowden leaked vital American secrets
and has been labeled a traitor by our (his) Government, and yet, in a
few years, he will be portrayed as a hero of the people for exposing
a government that collected and analyzed the confidential data of
American citizens. And then over time, Snowden, like all the others
will be forgotten.
Over time, laws change, people change,
attitudes change and what was once a crime is now a recreational
activity for some Americans... Go Figure? Have we, in fact,
evolved into something better, or just become more tolerant or have
finally realized that the voters out number the people in office.
What was considered porn a few years
ago is now considered art and hung in homes in private collections
for children and adults to conspicuously view whenever their hearts
are so inclined... but, they are committing no crime because the
laws have changed... which again makes little since to me from the
standpoint of why did we have that law in the first place?
The same holds true for heroes and
villains, doesn't it? Well, it has actually worked the reverse for
Bill Cosby as he is likely to spend the last years of his life in
prison due to the fact that he has gone from hero to villain... and
even his PhD has been questioned and no doubt will eventually be
rescinded like all his honors and awards.
And, all we can do is quietly speculate
how many other heroes are like him and should we try to expose all of
them so we can set the records straight? I mean, is it not important
to let the general public know that most of our so-called heroes are
actually villains at the same time... so that, we have, in
actuality, no heroes at all... but a 50/50 blend.
Everybody has a little dirt on them...
and, all we have to do is find it... but, bear in mind that those
looking for the dirt, also have dirt on them as well.
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