"Panem et Circenses"

After having decided to escalate the war in Afghaistan Barack Obama now arrives in Oslo to collect his Noble Peace Prize, while the Israeli government tells all and sundry that the freeze that doesn't exist could not have waited. However, if you think that is absurd, what about this?

'T-Home', as I mentioned in an early post gives me access to some English language channels and my main zapping numbers would appear to be, 153, 164 and 165 with my favourites appearing to be 'Dr 90210' (zapping number 153) and 'King of Queens' (zapping number 165). Escapism of the "highest" order and anyway there was me today thinking isn't 'Dr 90201' getting a bit serious with Dr Rey's wife, Haley, bent over a little coffin crying and me thinking that one of the Reys' two rather lovely kids had kicked the bucket only to discover that it was in fact their dog, a Chihuahua called "Peanuts". Well, to cut a long story short, there was a little formal burial service, with both of the Reys having a good cry, before they took themselves down to some home for stray dogs to get themselves a replacement for "Peanuts", which looked uncannily like "Peanuts". Of course, the new dog has found a new home and a new family and the new family are really happy at the new addition but the grief was obviously very real and Dr Rey finished off the episode by telling us all that there will always be a place in his heart for "Peanuts".

Escapism is necessary but might it not just be that drivel like this occupies that part of our hearts and minds that should be open for the lying and dying on Afghanistan's fields, to the ethnic cleansing that is going on in the Middle East, to the ongoing genocide in the Congo, etc. etc.? Moreover, even the most moronic have at least an inkling that "Die Hard 3", "Rambo" and John Wayne and the 7th Cavalry are ..... well, aren't the real world. However, 'Dr 90201' is the real world, indeed, these are good doctors who do some very good work, and if I had started to empathise with this grown man and woman crying over a little dog, I would have probably ended up putting a bullet through my head after watching a 'Guardian' clip on people suffering in North Kivu at the hands of the Rwandan Hutu milita, the 'Interahamwe',  sometimes known as the FDLR.

Yes, Obama collecting the Noble Peace Prize is absurd and the "freeze" that is not a freeze is a farce. However, as long a we live in a mad, mad, world, where we would rather shed our tears when our pet dog dies or our favourite football team loses than confront ourselves with images of real people being forced off of their land, being blown to bits or having their limbs hacked off, we really aren't going to worry too much about genuine injustice, lies and crimes against humanity. No, the manufacturing of consent is supplemented by big dollops of "panem et circenses" and the human condition is not in a healthy state.