I knew that Laura Ingraham was going to be on The View yesterday so I made sure that I was properly sedated before tuning in to watch. I had never seen Laura on TV and was interested to see the face behind the mouth on live TV. She clearly looked uncomfortable amongst the usual panel of mealy-mouthed make-up pheasants who rapidly segway from subjects like the war in Iraq to putting together the perfect little outfit for less than a hundred dollars. I find it hard to believe that the matriarch of this circus is the same Barbara Walters that once interviewed world leaders. For Barbara The View is just one step away from hosting a game show or fighting on Celebrity Boxing. The women on the panel constantly interrupt each other and talk over each other like they are in a high school cafa-gym-atorium while Barbara sits there like a Labradoodle puppy that just got spayed and is still coming out of anesthesia.
The only reason I could conjure up as to why Ingraham would even appear on The View was to hawk her new book “Power to the People” which I have not read but have bashed anyway in previous blogs. If you listen to her show you already know her politics and opinions which are the basic premise of the book. I just don’t want to give her any money. Whoopi Goldberg, the new addition to the panel since the hasty and heated departure of Rosie O’Donnel, immediately went after Ingraham about the origin of the title “Power to the People” stating that it had come from the Black Panther movement of the sixties. Ingraham defended her choice of the title by explaining that the title was referencing what is on the minds of people in America’s heartland. Concerns over the pornificiation of our society, the negative images being broadcast to our children in every form of media, and poor representation in government. I’m not sure how Laura Ingraham knows what is on the minds of people in America’s heartland. I don’t even know where the heartland is in America. I was under the impression the any place in this country that you make your home is the heartland. Whether you grew up on a farm that produced crops for food or in a steel mill town where the industrial revolution boom began or in a upscale suburb in Connecticut like Laura Ingraham did known for trips to the Mall and beautifully landscaped lawns cared for by illegal Mexican workers.
Laura Ingraham has a plan to rid the planet of anything that she deems to be offensive… which is pretty much everything. The big plan? She wants everyone who is offended by what they see on television to call the station or write a letter and have them take the show off the air. She’s a regular Doctor Evil isn’t she? Ooops. I referenced a movie that she would find meaningless and full of crude humor and is therefore offensive. I thought it was hilarious and obviously my opinion does not reflect that of the heartland. I may need to move.
Okay, I’m going to break this down for Laura in a way that even she can grasp. (Please use a child’s voice in your head while reading the next few lines in order to really punch home the sarcasm aspect)If a show wasn’t popular people wouldn’t watch it and it would be taken off of the air. Shows stay on the air because advertisers know that a lot of people are watching them and will see their products. If the far right wing moral majority wants to see harmless wholesome entertainment than they should produce shows that depict that part of our culture. Of course it would have to be interesting and entertaining in order to capture an audience. I challenge anyone like Ingraham produce a show in a put-up-or-shut-up opportunity to reach out to the so-called heartland and give them what they want. Or what she says they want. Or just what she wants. The show would not have anything offensive in it at all. Here is a short list of banned words or images: Hillary Clinton, democrat, bitch, ho, the F word, the S word, the N word, any and all sexual references, half-shirts on women, body piercings, rap music, smoking, drinking, all religions except Roman Catholicism, neon lights, and tattoos.
You can’t stop the natural evolution of a society or culture. Is the world going to hell in a hand cart? Probably. But it’s been going there since the beginning of mankind. I’m sure the early Americans in 1789 didn’t think much of those crazy mixed up kids in 1805 with their shorter knickers and round hats instead of the traditional triangle shape. The line of what is normal, acceptable and decent in our culture has been blurred for good. Each person has the responsibility to choose how they want to live their life and ultimately what they want to stand for. Rememebr that every kind thought and every kind action gives new hope to the world…until global warming wipes us all out.
