I was at The Village Idiot in Maumee last night. The TV's sound was mercifully turned off so we could hear the great Dylan-loaded jukebox--but during the time it took me to down a Bud Light and a bag of pretzels it appeared to me that the only story CNN was covering was "Hero Dad's Tragic Last Hours." It was also the subject of Larry King. This morning, the story is in the headline spot at the CNN website.
It is very sad that James Kim died while trekking through the frigid wilderness trying to get help for his snowbound family. But at the risk of sounding callous, I have to ask why this fairly mundane news story is being hyped as much as it is.
I think the story of James Kim is being floggeed by the news media and the public because of the disaster unfolding in Iraq and the popular dissatisfaction with the war and the President who led us into it.
The father (Kim/Bush) drives his family (the Kims/the country) into a dangerous place. He is unprepared for what he finds there (no winter clothes/no Humvee armor, etc.). Relying on the father figure, the family/the country gets stuck there. The country mounts a massive military rescue effort, but to no avail. After using up all their gas and burning their tires to keep warm/after using up hundreds of billions of dollars and thousands of American lives, the situation is obviously dire.
How does the story end? The father/Bush, whose miscalculations got his family/the country into this mess, leaves the rest of the family/leaves office. For his futile, failed efforts, the father/Bush is later hailed as a hero. The family/the country, however, suffers grievous injuries and devastating personal losses.
Anyone else hear that resonance?
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