People love a good story. Something that will take them out of their own head for awhile, make them laugh, get inspired, or even make them feel heroic and courageous. All from the comfort of the chair they're sitting on.

People also don't like bad news, negative situations, or anything that's going to harsh their buzz or challenge their core values. People like their everyday reality to be pleasant, if possible, at at least affirming and validating of what they already believe.

It's understandable that people turn to diversions when they've had enough reality. And, there are legions of people out there ready to provide those diversions. We call them "entertainers."

The computer age is an interesting time for people who want diversion. It's possible to plug in to whatever you want any time day or night. In fact, we have a population which has grown accustomed to ready access to all of these things, and is quite comfortable with the world of electronic media of all types. The emphasis many people put on their diversions makes you wonder if they've sort of swapped out reality for something they like more. Something that doesn't jar their belief system. Something that isn't too threatening. A picture of things they're comfortable with. Brought to you by Our Sponsor.

The news and information industries in our culture have always been closely allied with the entertainment people, and the news people have taken more than a few pages from the entertainment peoples' playbook, as evidenced by the many models with great hair and pouty lips who deliver the "news." Needing to cultivate a following of both consumers and advertisers, "the news" seems to have formulated a product that keeps everyone happy and coming back for more.

American politics thrives on the presence of bogeymen. For the most part, we're happy to let most things--even the really important ones--roll right off us until something spooks us. Then we sit up straight and pay attention. Since ours is a diverse culture, there's a different bogeyman for every group, ready to appear on cue. Our culture seems to be content consuming media yarns of bogeymen doing bad things. As a result of this mass-scale "swallowing it," there is no shortage of heads planted straight up bums. Let's take a look at some of it.

Plenty of spit and ink have been spent describing and making fun of how dumb the "RightTards" are. Mostly, these are playground-style arguments, little better than one side saying that the other has kooties. The right seems to be all about guns, God and gays, and barely-concealed racism. They also appear to be conducting a war against the environment, and don't care for those who read books or wear nice pants.

One of the Left's bogeymen is the smelly, pus-filled center of neocon-style Republicanism. Ann Coulter is a favorite targets. Nothing too outrageous for her to say or write, and nothing that won't get the Left's undies in a bunch. Works every time! Many Dems and Liberals believe that bad guys have taken over the government and are the sole cause of all problems. Swap those rascals out for some proper Green Tea-drinking Liberals, and all ills will be washed away. The Left also likes to talk a lot about the other side's obsession with silly religious beliefs and various sexual hangups as having a direct causal relationship with what's going on here politically.

And perhaps the crown jewel of silliness on the part of Left "pundits" is that the real reason we're fighting never-ending resource wars is that the 'president' hates his daddy and wants his mommy, and has a need to play dress-up. Oh, and by the way, he talks to his Special Little Friend, can't pronounce the word "nuclear," and he's really, really dumb, which makes the whole thing that much worse.

Here are a couple of stings.

We are fighting never-ending resource wars as a direct result of the way we live. A gang of corporatistas is running our country because of the way we insist on living. We are strapped to an untenable economic model which demands never-ending growth, limitless profits. We demand great jobs, cheap prices, non-stop comfort and an endless supply of consumer goodies which we buy, discard, and buy again as though it is our birthright to squander the very planet we live on.

Even those who should know better spread the fiction that the key to solving our environmental problems is simply to switch the type of fuel that powers the amusement park. That it isn't our profligate self-indulgence which has brought on imminent environmental failure; it's the FUEL that's wrong, man!

Basically, in This Land, baby wants its bottle, and things are set up to make sure we get it anytime we want, and to prevent us from feeling any real consequences that might make us take a hard look at what the real causes of our problems are.

Consumerism and self-indulgence drive the Machine, enabling big business to run things the way that works best for it. Consumerism causes us to wage war to keep the toys and comfort in steady supply, and has been elevated to the level of Patriotic Duty.

Even as the elements of what some have called a Perfect Storm of environmental, economic and military catastrophe loom, we are still head-up-our-bums with externalizing our self-made problems, laying the blame on "the bad guys" who've hijacked our fair democracy.

What it cooks down to is this. If your house is on fire, do you make snotty remarks about how the impudent fire has inconvenienced you? Or, do you grab your loved ones, get your asses outside, and engage in some intelligent, productive activity, like calling the fire department or grabbing a bucket of water? (C) 2007 John A. Johnson