Think back to the election...Tina Fey...Maverick...yay, we won! Remember Joe the Plumber? Didn't it turn out that he wasn't really a plumber? Anyway, he got a book deal, with a ghostwriter I'm sure. Here he is shown above at a reading of his new book. The post I read said he sold a whopping five copies.THIS is what is wrong with America. We don't (often) reward knowledge or experience, or even eloquence. We reward whatever idiot happens to be standing in the right place at the right time. Joe the (not really a) Plumber gets a book deal for...what exactly? Whipping up the conservatives to breath some fire into a dying campaign? I suppose I should just be grateful no one has put him on TV. (If someone has I do NOT want to know.)
What seems most tragic to me is that the man agreed to it. I'm sure it was good pay for minimal work, but my God, there's not enough money in the world to make me go out and read words I didn't write about ideas I never had in front of people I don't know. I know times are tough but just how much is the going rate for ones dignity?
What happened to critical thinking, and when did so many of us abandon it for whatever message gets shouted loudest? Shouldn't our collective experience strive to be something more?
5 comments:
OH MY GOD, David, I have tears in my eyes. THANK YOU for this post. So true! Knowledge, experience, real, true and geniune hard work are NOT rewarded -- Joe and Paris Hilton are?
What, David? I couldn't hear you over the din of pop culture.
That's so sad! There are a lot af fantastic young aspiring writers looking for a publishing contract and they give it to a knob.
What's his book about? Plumbing 101, Plumbing for dummies....
What has happened to integrity, loyalty, honesty? I realize I am making a huge generalization, as there are so many good people out there. This just blows me away though! Thanks David for this posting as a reminder to all of us. Pay it forward and do the RIGHT thing.
The best writing about the anti-intellectualism in the US can be found here: http://frethink.com/2008/08/25/anti-intellectualism-is-destroying-america/
I read it every once in awhile just to remind myself that they havent' taken over completely. It also reminds me that so much of the public discourse is just absolute crap, meant to distract from real issues.
Thank you for this post. I heart you.
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