THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED

I want to start by giving credit to Don McLean for the title as it was taken from his song "American Pie". Contemplation is a very sobering realization, and the longer you contemplate the more you realize that we as a Nation have changed in ways that are far from becoming. I will add this note before proceeding, It is no doubt the Media that has changed the American Psyche, and has led to what I will call for now "the losing of America". We have allowed the "Media", (and I use that word with trepidation and dismay) to shape our day to day lives in ways that only George Orwell could have imagined. Orwell talk of "Big Brother", and we naturally assumed it was the Government we needed to fear, when in truth it was the Media that was "Big Brother" and was always watching. Allow me to digress, Remember DiMaggio, Williams, Gehrig, Mantle, Mays, Aaron, Gretsky, Starr, Jim Brown, Lou Groza, Fiorello LaGuardia, Franklin Roosevelt, Gandhi. Now ask yourself what do they all have in common, Ball Players, Mayors, Presidents, Statesmen? They once were what you might refer to as Folk Heroes of a sort, people that we looked up to, people that we believed in, so what has changed, well I am going to tell you my version of this story. What has changed is the Media, nothing anymore sinister than that, Let's start at what appears to be an innocent beginning, Martin Luther King, isn't it strange that the media followed his every step, video taped his every movement, and of course broadcasted his every foible, we relished in it, and then who was there the fateful day he was shot, who else, the Media, Cameras ready and film rolling, They built him up, tore him down and reveled in his demise. Who had cameras rolling when JFK was killed, who spoke of his illicit encounters with Marilyn Monroe, the media who else. Speaking of Marilyn, who conduted the vigil at her home upon her suicide, the Media who else. Is the story becoming more clear, if not, let me continue: Lest we not forget, Richard Nixon, Gary Hart, Jimmy Carter, Newt Gingrich, all made into heroes by the media in order to chop them down to size, and we nodded and drank the Kool Aid like good puppets. Then of course for the sake of proving their omnipotence, they had a President impeached, had an aid to the President commit suicide, all in the name of Journalism, and again we nodded and drank another cup. The list is endless but allow me to remember those unfortunates: George W Bush(the Media Darling), Trent Lott, Dan Quayle, Mark McGuire, Rafael Palmerio, Sammy Sosa, Lance Armstrong, and the lsit goes on, as we nod and drink another glass. What if we never tuned in, what would happen, would the world end, time stop, what please tell me, because we now have an addiction to tune in for the latest devastation. We have forgotten what was good about us, and all we know now is what the Media tells us and needs us to believe. Here is a brief quiz, see if you are one of us, If they advertised a TV show that was nothing but Murder, Death, Violence, Slander, Inuendo, Deceit, and totally absurd.. Would you watch it? I certainly hope you answered in the negative, but then think twice, isn't that what the Media provides every night at 7PM Nationally? And of course we nod once again and drink another glass. I am fascinated with how the Media latches on to a story and continues to pedal it night after night with no regard for accuracy, truth, or how harmful it may be. I read a story on page 9 of a newspaper the other day and I realized what was happening, it was a story about the 16th Street Baptist Church and 19 sticks of dynamite, granted this happened in 1963, but it just happened to be the anniversary of the event, and it got Page 9, what was on Page 1 you ask? Well it was the Market crisis, the coming of the 2nd Great Depression, and what was on the 7PM shows, (1) the coming of the Great Depression, (2) Global Warming ended Mankind, (3) Bombings in Pakistan, (4) Iran and Nukes, (5) N Korea and Nukes. Roosevelt said "We have nothing to Fear but Fear itself", Roosevelt must have been talking of the Media for sure. Allow me to close by quoting "They took the last train for the Coast. the day the Music died", It appears that we have two choices, one is to take back what we have given up, or two, just keep drinking the Kool Aid and you won't even notice when the Music dies.
Good Night Mrs. Calabash wherever you are.