IS AMERICA GOING MAD?

Is America going mad? That's the title of a comment in The Guardian (UK), by Richard Adams and published yesterday. Adams maintains that there is evidence in the books currently being published that America is split in two, right down the middle, and that the fights between factions may be driving Americans mad, literally, as in coo-coo.

Here's a portion of the last paragraph:

"A new non-fiction offering from Barnes & Noble is a new cartoon series by Marvel Comics, to be called Civil War. In it the US government demands that superheroes be registered as living weapons of mass destruction - which divides the superheroes into pros and antis. 'Along the way, Marvel will unveil its version of Guantánamo Bay, enemy combatants, embedded reporters and more,' reported the New York Times. So anyone looking for a sign of the times, here it is: even Spider-Man and Captain America are fighting with each other. All that's missing is a book. Get me HarperCollins. I want to tell them about The 101 Dangerous Superheroes Who Are Screwing Up America.”

Adams also references books by the likes of David Horowitz and Bernard Goldberg on the extreme right, and he mentions some "lefties" too. On Goldberg's list of hate, for example, "is veteran TV journalist Bill Moyers - who exhibits his hatred of America (according to Goldberg) by eating brie and drinking Chablis. According to Horowitz, the 101 dangerous academics 'spew violent anti-Americanism, preach anti- Semitism and cheer on the killing of American soldiers and civilians - all the while collecting tax dollars ... to indoctrinate our children'." What an insane thing to write!

Of course, a sane person sees evidence of general populace insanity each time he/she turns on the TV, too. The antidote to TV used to be the advice, "Read a book instead." Well, not anymore! So, what can a sane person do in an insane country to keep one's sanity? My advice is to listen to National Public Radio and/or watch the Public Broadcasting Company.

One final caution. Beware of the theology wonks. The instanity bug has infected some of them also.