Hunger Games in Tampa
As I watched the Republican Convention unfold in Tampa last week, I couldn't help thinking about " The Hunger Games." The blockbuster book and movie seems to be playing out for real this week as billions are spent on a kind of fantasy contest between Democrats and Republicans. The GOP is in the spotlight at the moment, but next week, in Charlotte, the Dems will be up at bat and will be spinning stories of their own.
But the conventions and the Presidential election really do parallel the book, don't you agree? A bored audience all over the country watches the televised " games" and that keeps their minds off of the real problem-- to wit: that a small group lives in luxury while the majority struggles.
As the Republican convention came to a climax last night with a tightly scripted acceptance speech by Mitt Romney, I watched the cheering multitudes in cowboy hats waving placards, the lights, the cameras, the glitz and glamor and thought " this is nuts." Children are dying in Africa of simple diseases and famine.... in point of fact children are dying or at least going to bed hungry right here in the United States as we cheer on the candidates and participate in our own " Hunger Games" Hail to the Pentagon. Hail to the American Dream. As usual it is guns vs. butter and guns win.
Where is Katniss when you need her?
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