Much Ado About Nothing is generally considered one of Shakespeare’s best comedies, because it combines elements of robust hilarity with more serious meditations on honor, shame, and court politics. It was written in 1598 – 1599, but the title fits so much of what is making news today. Does anyone else think that our citizens are spending an inordinate amount of time getting all riled up about things that are really pretty inconsequential in the grand scheme of life? I have been amazed by the amount of press that is given to events that don’t even deserve to be a blip on a radar screen. Mark Twain once said, “If you don’t read the newspaper you are uninformed, if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed.”
Just recently, in Texas, the idea of having a small likeness of a confederate flag on our license plates has led to a case now pending before the US Supreme Court. What it seems to boil down to is the right of free speech versus the rights of certain individuals who choose to be offended by the image.
Let’s face it, there was a Civil War, and there was a Confederacy, just like there was a Union. One lost the war, the other won. Are we going to pretend it didn’t happen, or do we take the position that the Confederacy was bad and the Union was good? Both sides ultimately were caring, conscientious citizens of the United States of America. The participants bore children and those children bore children. What is so bad about acknowledging your past? A small square flag on a license plate – give me a break.
Back in February a Senator from North Carolina argued that restaurants should be allowed to “opt out” of certain regulations – such as employees washing their hands. Such a rule, he says, is an example of how America is “one of the most regulated nations in the history of the planet.” I’m sure he was just trying to make a point, but the press had a feeding frenzy. My question, is “why would anyone in such a high position even spend time thinking about such an issue?” I never heard anyone ever say that a food service employee should not wash his or her hands after using the restroom. Doesn’t Congress have a few more important issues to debate?
Then there is the case of NBC newscaster Brain Williams “lying” to his public, and embellishing these lies over time. In the days of Walter Cronkite this might have been cause for serious consequences, but that was when the “news” was relatively pure and unbiased. Today’s newscasts are merely another form of entertainment, embellished to attract viewers. Did it really matter whether or not Mr. Williams’s helicopter was hit by ground to air fire? There was a battle going on and he reported it. OK, it’s not nice to lie, but a famous man once said, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone ….” (John 8:7 KJV).
I could go on and on, but the main point I’d like to make is that, in my opinion, we would all be better off concentrating our time and emotions on the major challenges facing our country today. All of the above distractions, are just that distractions that take our eyes off of the important things in life. Much ado about nothing. Let’s pay attention to our families; the economy; education; income disparities; terrorism; foreign relations; etc. I know, some of these things are scary, and there are no easy answers. It’s much easier to just stick our heads in the sand and like Scarlett O’Hara, “think about it tomorrow.” So many other nations in history, found that tomorrow was often too late.