Entertainment?

I was on DailyKOS in the comments thread discussing the debates and what Molly Ivins has referred to elsewhere as Bush's "bubble boy syndrome" and its impact on the debates. Several folks in the thread were saying that the National Media's desire for an exciting horserace will likely have them pulling and spinning for Bush tonight, and I hate to say it, but I think they might be right.

This is a very sad state of things.

In the world of Infotainment, nothing really matters except eyeballs and dollars. It's about generating excitement to get people to tune in. In their drive for dollars the networks are dishing out a sort of virtual opiate. And like the siren's song -- it's seductive.

We can respond to this is a variety of ways. -- We can mount "Just Say No" campaigns that push people to turn it off, or by drawing on the most egregious examples of the genre, we can mount campaigns for regulation or outright bans. But perhaps that's not our best strategy.

Granted, it is one we are very familiar with. But the last time I looked, the War on Drugs was a losing proposition.

Infotainment is a virtual drug. And the Corporate Media are pushers surrounded by eager buyers. As long as there is demand, there will be supply.

The real question is why. What is wrong?

The Washington Post today has a article about how youth are finding ways to abuse over-the counter drugs to get high.

Clearly, here in the US we are living in a culture of addiction -- if it's not booze, or drugs, or food, or sex, its a virtual high -- extreme sports, horror, infotainment, video and on-line gaming, the list is endless. Why?

If humankind was normally this prone to addiction, we would not have survived to this point in history. Something is wrong. What?

How do we fix it?

Maybe it's time to stop casting blame -- whether at the victims or the perpetrators, and take a new look at life in these United States.

Where are our healthy communities? Do they have things in common? What are they doing differently?

And how do people successfully move beyond addiction?