Monday, January 26, 2009

No Safe Zones: The Politicization of . . . Everything

In this Glorious New Beginning of the Age of Obama, it is getting harder and harder to escape partisan politics, especially of the Lefty variety.

I can be a bit political. (Here, all my readers say, “Nooooo!”) But there are actually times when I don’t want to deal with politics and don’t appreciate being bombarded with such.

One such time was on the evening of The Glorious First Day (more commonly known as January 20th). I had watched, calmly for the most part I will have you know, the Inauguration and the events following. But now I wanted to relax and watch some college basketball on ESPN HD (which can be really glorious).

But the announcers just had to note Obama’s Glorious New Beginning. . . . And they kept talking about it, very favorably, of course. And they kept talking about Obama, and they kept talking about Obama and . . . I turned off the T. V.

Hey, ESPN, if I turn to you, I do so to watch sports.

Well, I’m not the only one who has noticed that “safe zones” from partisan politics are getting fewer and fewer. Many, particularly of the lefty persuasion, just don’t get that some settings are just not appropriate for injecting their political views.

And that includes religious political lefties. I remember Tony Compolo ranting about Iraq in an address to a youth workers convention I attended.

I walked out.

Much more here.

Not more safe zones though, I’m afraid.

By the way, not to be paranoid, but that’s one symptom of increasing authoritarianism/totalitarianism.

1 comment:

Dr. Mabuse said...

Even in Canada, it's bad. When I'm driving my husband to work in the morning, I tune the radio to an easy-listening French channel. Yesterday, they were STILL talking about Obama! "Music appropriate for the election of Obama", "a singer who dedicated this song to Obama", a number by a musician who performed for Obama at the Inauguration. Enough! I just want some soothing music to get me through the traffic! I half expect the moderator to tell me to take my frustration with the traffic jams and "offer it up to Obama".