Rea more
The Civil War has ended where it began
When did we as a country get so distracted?
As a nation, we are impassioned by a 150-plus-year-old flag that means hatred to one group and heritage to another.
It's gotten to the point that serious people with valid points were discussing whether the "Dukes of Hazzard" television show was racist because there was a flag connected with the Confederate states on the roof of a Dodge.
The debate spiraled to the point where a cable network canceled reruns of the "Dukes of Hazzard" to avoid protests. In some ways, taking that show - which routinely got laughs from the stereotypical backward nature of Southerners and introduced us to a future Georgia legislator as a character named Cooter - off the air is a blessing to a lot of Southern folks.
In truth, if we're going to use the TV medium as an anti-racist platform, air the lunacy and antics of Archie Bunker on a daily basis. (He lived in one of the five boroughs of New York, by the way.) Confront racism by showing a caricature of racism; the Dukes were more Robin Hood than boys in white hoods.
The flag flap, however, is hardly the only issue that is more social than societal. And this is not to question the validity of what you hold dear as much as the volume and velocity with which it's being discussed.
All of these matters are important to someone, but it feels like the distractions have become the focus and our focus as a nation has been distracted.
We as a nation - and after Tuesday, as a city - are wrestling with wording of this clause and that legislation for civil unions among all couples. The Supreme Court's decision on gay marriage has sent waves through the political parties and galvanized each far side.
But in the terms of government and the real issues facing our country, where would gay marriage rank? Where would the Confederate flag rank in overall problems? Where would you rank the hot-button issues like abortion or the death penalty that are filled with passion but frequently deflect the conversations of day-to-day issues like crime or education or poverty or the vanishing middle class?
And, sadly, a lot of current leaders - and even more tragically, potential future leaders - are caught in the web of social distraction.
I don't pretend to have the answers, but shouldn't we discuss an occasional issue beyond something that affects a relatively small, albeit passionate, sector?
And if we must focus on the social views of the majority over the hard-core beliefs of others, then let's go ahead and make vaccinations mandatory for every kid out there. That's infinitely more serious and direct and dangerous than a slew of other strong-willed opinions.
Why has that not been moved to the circle of discussion in this social tsunami of activism? In fact, it's high time this gets put on the docket of change that is churning, and this one affects all of us no matter what your religion, your marital position or whatever will cause you to email me this morning.
We as a people have a boatload of opinions and very few answers.
We have issues that consume all of our time and problems too big to ignore.
And I have to think that whether the Duke boys are on TV is not among them.
Jay Greeson's column will appear on Page A2 on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays. His sports columns are scheduled for Tuesdays and Fridays. You can read his online column the 5-at-10 Monday through Friday at timesfreepress.com after 10 a.m. Contact him at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com and follow him on Twitter at @ jgreesontfp.