Reply #74: Well, about the guns...and the TV... [View All]

[tomreedtoon]

...as Michael Moore said in his flawed but earnest "Bowling for Columbine," the presence of guns doesn't cause trouble. Canadians have even more guns in personal hands but a tiny fraction of the gun violence and murders of America.

Moore correctly pointed out that American culture pushes paranoia and fear, as does American politics. (And before the people at DU start feeling superior about that, you're guilty too: look at the brouhaha that erupts here about stupid things, like John Kerry's five-years-too-late righteousness about being mugged in an alley.)

As for the TV, it's curious that you should pick on that. The last export from America that anyone really wants is our popular culture, and despite its flaws, it's the one thing we make that's worthwile. I've seen BBC America and, let's be honest, its best shows are pallid imitations of American productions. Canada's "Cold Case," which my station runs late at night, is a "CSI" clone that wasn't baked in the oven long enough. And we're only seeing the GOOD stuff from England and Europe; more typical is Johnny Carson's old description of the BBC running a "documentary on the history of scissors."

About not understanding the rest of the world, well, it's that paranoia we suffer. In the 1950's, when we were self-confident and snotty, we were more open to the rest of the world. After a few assassinations of a couple of Kennedys and a King, we're nowhere near as cheery. If we could get a decent leader to spread light and hope, instead of the guy we've got now, we'd feel better as a people and act better in the rest of the world.

But sadly, the only replacements being pushed are Clinton, Kerry and Gore, who bear the same relation to our best Presidents as "Cold Case" does to "CSI." Underbaked clones from the vat. But at least they're better than Shrubbery.