Herman

Cain

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March 24, 2008

TV Stars Paul and Pamela Pitiful Are Not the Real America

The proliferation of TV news and entertainment has distorted the true images of the people that have made and are making the United States of America great. A seemingly endless 2008 presidential campaign nomination process has battered most people with a constant rapid fire of sound bites of the day, when normal people are just trying to make it from day to day.

Last week’s mainstream news has confirmed once again that except for the tragedies associated with natural disasters, war casualties, senseless crimes, political sex scandals, racial diatribe and sometimes just uninformed reporting, they have very little to report when Congress is not in session. But on the other hand, I guess that’s what they call reporting.

I’m not a trained journalist, so what do I know?

I know that the images of America on TV are not the true spirit of America.

The true spirit of America is not Paul and Pamela Pitiful. The true spirit of America is Will and Wilma Workhard.

All last week during my nightly three-hour radio show, I received call after call of people who shared my rebuke of the media’s obsession with recession, and an even greater rebuke that this economy is in shambles.

Is the economy fragile? Yes. Is it in shambles? No.

Michael called in and proudly talked about receiving his citizenship last week after a seven-year process. He went on to say he had gotten a second job to supplement his income since we all know that the prices of everything are going to go up. He said the opportunity to even find a second job was not something he could do in the country he came from.

Henry called in and said he started experiencing the economic slowdown when his number of customers started to decline. He’s a barber and he was not whining about it, he just wanted to point out that he did something about it. He got two part-time jobs rather than wait for things to get worse.

Debra called to express her annual outrage at April 15 sticker shock again as she filed her income taxes. She is frustrated that her tax bill is eating up so much of her $47,000-a-year income, which should not be a struggle for a family of two but it is. She wants the Fair Tax to pass Congress now.

David called to tell me about how he and his wife were both casualties of corporate downsizing in the town where they live, but they both drive to new jobs 150 miles a day round-trip until they can find something closer to home. He said there are jobs out there. You just may have to look a little further from home. He went on to say that he had just gotten a call that day for a promising job much closer to home.

Sara called in to express her frustration with being taxed to death so Congress could spend money on ridiculous projects, such as a mule museum in Bishop, California or a teapot museum in North Carolina. I am not making this up.

The true spirit of America is not the faces that present the news, nor is it the faces that are in the news, nor is it the politicians trying to make the news.

The true spirit of America is Michael, Henry, Debra, David, Sara, Will and Wilma Workhard, and everyone working hard every day to pursue their lives and their dreams, because they appreciate the opportunity to pursue them.

We don’t see enough of those faces on TV, but it is good to know that they are out there. Without them, there would be no America.    

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