I’m attempting to type this during the timeouts and breaks between overtimes of the KSU-Xavier game. So if a random GAH shows up in my post, I apologize.
March Madness just goes to show up how unpredictable things can be in this world. Some things, however, are not. For example: Sarah Palin has her own reality TV show. I mean really. Who didn’t see this coming? The gal has been beefed up to celebrity status, and frankly, America, I’m sick of it. As if yall didn’t already know how much her hype ticks me off, EVERYONE’s hype ticks me off. I studied British politics last semester, and I was intrigued. Because in Britain, politicians are held accountable. And I know that American politicians get plenty of crap, oftentimes undeserved crap, but we give them a hell of a pedestal to stand on, and that’s where the change needs to come in. We’re giving a governor a reality TV show to talk about Alaska. True, she was Alaska’s governor, but she essentially quit being governor so she could go on book tour in the lower 48, if I understand correctly. So I mean, you know, she REALLY cares about Alaska. But I’m sorry, I do NOT want a gal that turns down opportunities to lead and govern for opportunities to go on promotional book tours and host reality tv shows to be my president. No thank you. I admire book writers (reality TV show hosts, not as much, though it depends on the show). But that doesn’t mean that you’re qualified to be my president. Just sayin’.
That rant is over. Lo siento. (COME ON KSU!!!) But going with the we-put-our-politicians-on-a-pedestal-theme, I was thinking about it today when my professor brought up a local campus issue here. The student board of communications is at risk to lose a significant portion of funding due to the fact that it has lots of reserves saved up in case of emergency. Now, the Drake student senate isn’t some crazy governmental body on a power trip. BUT this motion was brought forward without any forewarning to the student board of communications, and this motion, were it to pass, has the potential to drastically affect the entire student body, as it is the budget reserved for newspaper, magazine, radio, and tv productions that serve the entire campus audience. How it will all play out is still to be determined, but it made me think about the power of the press and how so often we (we being us journalism folk) find ourselves unintentionally (and more often intentionally) directly battling government. But it is our job as the press to hold our politicians accountable for what they do. That is, partly, my purpose in this whole blog, and I hope that that’s evident. So, to all you journalists out there, keep trucking, and don’t let them take your funding. Once we lose our voice, the people lose their voice, and the government is no longer responsible to a people, but only to themselves.
Shpiel over. (AND KSU WON! THANK GOODNESS!)
Peace out.
New Shoes 