How about it? Was everyone obsessed with Hurricane Irene over the weekend or what? I was on the shores of Lake Huron and couldn’t help speculating that the nonstop wind and roiling of those beautiful green waters just had to be hurricane related – even though the wind off the lake was coming from the north and Irene was barreling her way up from the south. Details!
Now, mid-week after the Storm-of-the-Century-that-Wasn’t, there’s a lot of second-guessing about the response of public officials and the media. “Over-reaction” is the catchphrase, especially on the part of the media. As one Internet commentator succinctly observed: CNN in hurricane = Pigs in sh**
I gotta say, it was the weekend and I was glued to my TV set, along with the rest of the nation. Let’s face it, weather reporting is entertainment if you’re not in the storm’s path or worried about someone who is. So for most of the country, this was entertainment at its best: The information being transmitted not only held your interest but allowed you to participate in the country’s ever-flowing news conversation.
Watching Hurricane Irene was kind of like watching Sarah Palin discuss Paul Revere – damn entertaining, with the added bonus of empowering listeners to pontificate on “national events.” That’s what passes for political discourse in this country these days, and newstainment feeds it.
I loved the observation of Lee Siegel writing for The Daily Beast about what he considers our over-reaction to Irene:
“… perhaps the most plausible reason for our wild response is that weather is authentic, while our public life is more and more fabricated. We long for the clarifying crisis because the response to it is clear and direct. We will know, as a nation, what to do in response to a disaster. In every other area of politics and social issues, we have no idea, as a nation, what to do.”
That’s why I for one was glad to see our leaders being decisive with Irene. If some think it was overkill, so be it. I liked seeing our leaders dig in their heels and stand up to a problem. And the fact that Irene seemed to back down in response just added to the lore.
Now I’m ready for our leaders, including those at the state and local level, to apply that kind of resolve to the problems that don’t have any entertainment value – the ones that really need solving.
