Look, since I’m kind of on a cranky roll anyway (see two most recent posts, below), here are a few unkind words about Americans’ obsession with tomorrow’s royal wedding.
The one in England…you heard about it, right?
God, who around here hasn’t!? Honestly, have you thought about what has brainwashed American TV networks—hell, local stations even—into thinking that we care enough about this spectacle to justify their overkill? Well I have, and the answer is: nothing. They don’t really care whether we care or not about some royal wedding; it’s just an event—one completely absent any real significance (except for the participants and their families, I assume)—that they can turn into “An Event!” that will attract a lot of eyeballs, which is what they need to sell overpriced advertising. Have storyline, will hype.
And even at that I wouldn’t be bothered enough to complain, except for one thing. I have no qualms about a TV company that promotes and broadcasts an event with the intention of making a boatload of money; that’s what they do, whether it’s the Super Bowl or “American Idol” or the last episode of “M*A*S*H.” But I have significant-sized qualms when they prostitute any credibility they may still enjoy by dressing up this sales opportunity as coverage of serious news when it is without a doubt nothing of the sort, and when we let them get away with it. By “we” I mean the Great Unseen Unwashed American Tee Wee Viewing Audience, and by “let them get away with it” I mean act like we don’t know or care that they’re blowing sunshine up our collective skirt.
Oh, here’s some good news: television ratings indicate interest in this pseudonews is less than expected…I hope that carries over into tomorrow, too: schadenfreude is best served with tea and biscuits.
And on a related subject: this keen interest from Americans toward a royal wedding seems a bit disloyal, inasmuch as we fought a whole war and everything to make the point that we don’t much care for fancy pants nobles and royalty because "all men are created equal." So what’s up with that?
HEY, IT'S PAT RYAN'S BLOG! 
Hey Pat…long time, no comment. I think I read somewhere that it was something like 6% of the people polled even cared about the upcoming royal nuptials. I could give a rat’s ass about some social event happening in another country.
I also read where when Queen Elizabeth dies, Australia and New Zealand are going to leave the Commonwealth and make themselves Democratic Republics. All I can say is they’ve probably got a long wait. The Queen is currently in her early eighties and the previous Queen lived to be over one hundred.
Mike
I hope that’s right–even 6% seems embarassingly high.
That is 6% too much.
Here hereHear hear, well spoken, Bruce!Just think: if some unknown, unseen, pussy-assed spook hadn’t delayed the Navy Seals we could have taken out Bin Laden on Friday and wiped that prissy English wedding farce totally off the news. Anyone wearing those hats must be an inbred, upper class twit. Oh, the humanity…