Moonwalking to oblivion

Glenn Reynolds succinctly observes the reason I don't watch television, even for so-called "news."

Turned on the TV to see Geraldo interviewing Tommy Mottola about Michael Jackson’s death. In the background, footage of the body being delivered to the coroner’s office by helicopter. Glad to see Fox is keeping us up on what’s really important, the night before a big cap-and-trade vote in Congress, while revolution simmers in Iran, and people are trying to nationalize healthcare.

One day soon, I suspect people are going to have more immediate concerns than the lives and untimely deaths of celebrities whose behavior gets more and more outrageous in ever-escalating attempts to get just another "15 minutes of fame." Being out of work in a bankrupt nation that's made a lot of enemies in recent years tends to focus the mind on reality.

Want to know how successful Western society has been? Name another civilization where an equally broad swath of the population had time to concern themselves with the antics of people who contribute absolutely nothing to the bare essentials of survival. Too bad we forgot one has to take the basics seriously in order to preserve that luxury.