We watched the Frontline on Lee Atwater yesterday. Inasmuch as it was somewhat discomfiting to see the phrase "I hope you die in pain" play out in real life, I'd like to point out an obvious fact (as is my wont; a much loved and heavily bearded schoolteacher once called me a "Master of the Obvious"): the problem with Lee Atwater scaring the public with black rapists and mental illness is not Lee Atwater, it's the public.
And while I agree that the issue is a little more complicated, in that a leader (or a TV ad, apparently), has the ability to appeal to best or worst in us, I believe that these sides of our personalities are not independent beings. We still retain the ability to consider what's being told to us, after all. It would be nice -and really different- if an otherwise great documentary series like Frontline was less coy about who bears the ultimate responsibility for letting Willie Horton in 1988, Rove's "McCain has an illegitimate black child" rumor in 2000, or "Obama is a Muslim" this year become issues, and what that really says about our society.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment