.orgThe Wiz
Untitled (Piece on Cuba)
I awoke this morning to a CNN headline pronouncing the retirement of Fidel Castro. Castro, one of the most polarizing political figures of the 20th and 21st centuries, had used his forty-nine years as Prime Minister and President of Cuba to socialize agriculture, health care, education, and (euphemistically) his political opposition. El Comandante en Jefe Castro is lauded for his progressive social reform while, at the same time, deplored for the horrific human rights abuses orchestrated by his regime. Arguably, the political controversy surrounding Castro's reign and, now, resignation was the "meatiest" political story CNN has covered in a long, long time. I was actually excited to watch CNN this morning.
Unfortunately, that excitement soon faded. After a quick announcement of the venerable, dictatorial President's resignation, CNN presented the not-so-venerable, just-as-dictatorial President (at least until he is forced out of office in January) of these quasi-United States to comment on Castro's February 18th letter of resignation. I, understandably, stopped listening. Is Bush really the best person to hear from about Castro's impact on global politics? After the rambling of America's favorite Bumbler, we were offered a story about how Cuban-Americans usually vote for Republicans, but that this year "they" might vote for a Democrat. The story of Castro, a story about a figure that challenges the easy binary of liberal and conservative, was now a story of American bipartisan politics. "Them" Cuban-Americans have to vote for somebody, and Castro's resignation is somehow supposed to bring to life this bipartisan dilemma. The piece that follows the exploration of voting practices of the (I think, imagined) Cuban-American political bloc focuses on the current American presidential election, or as CNN has named the race, "Ballot Bowl." In the hour or so of the "news" block I watched this morning, Bush (of all people) was the only person who actually talked directly about Castro.
Am I pissed about not getting to hear more about Castro? A little. Am I a Castro sympathizer? Not really. Was I yet again disappointed by the American news media? Definitely.
The primary medium for American political discourse is the American (corporate) media. And CNN is a somewhat respectable representative of this medium, at least when it comes to television news. In Castro's resignation, CNN had the opportunity to actually engage a truly-interesting political story; but, instead of exploring the real story, CNN transformed it into American "politics": interest-group lobbying and bipartisan bickering. In watching this shameful transformation, I become paradoxically more embittered and less engaged. As the station toggled between reminders that "CNN = Politics" and the supposedly-witty nickname for the upcoming Presidential election, "Ballot Bowl," I grew increasingly shameful of our most-prized medium of American politics. It is no wonder that the mere mention of "politics" brings a bad taste to American mouths. I am feeling a little sick myself.
The popular American (corporate) media, as the intermediary between the alienated political machine and us (the inhabitants of the United States), has abandoned us in our quest to make a better America and a better world. This medium for political accountability and progress now mires us in a discourse of division and regression, further alienating us from, while at the same time binding us to, the darkening political reality of America.
What do we do about the fading light of American promise? We vote for the candidate that "looks presidential." We brag about our new Hybrid car. We discuss a better world to come over high-priced cocktails and Camel lights. We exercise our power by refueling the same corporate America that stifles any hope for real change.
The bad taste is coming back. I think I will have a cigarette.
You're off to see the Wizard
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
You'll find he is a whiz of a Wiz
If ever a Wiz there was.