The Newsroom Rant

If you haven’t seen this, please take a moment and watch.

At 3:30, the rant takes a turn- ‘We sure used to be’. What’s hurting my heart as I listen to this again is that this is the lie of our times. Because in a great country, everyone is recognized for their value. All those great things Jeff Daniels is talking about, what we built and strove for and achieved… some people were credited that, yes, did amazing things.

If the last couple of years have shown me anything, it’s shown me that there’s always a cost. And as you sit in your safe, clean home with a cupboard full of food and money in the bank, you get to enjoy all of that because someone else is paying the cost.. and not getting to enjoy even a minimal level of comfort and security. Maybe it’s the person who works in the meat packing plant, worried about ICE coming in for them or their friends and family. Maybe it’s the person putting in 35 hours a week at Walmart who is worried about getting off on time so they can get to the food bank and make sure there’s dinner and breakfast and lunch. Maybe it’s the server who just got stiffed on a tip that they needed to fill an insulin prescription.

It’s great to believe in an informed electorate… but when you are thinking about the very basics of staying alive, when the fuck do you have the time or energy to listen to NPR? And when the news has spent over a hundred years focused on the story of the straight white male population and you happen to not check those boxes, why would you trust them to tell your story or stories like yours in a way that matters?

I’ve heard that it is brave to love without counting the cost. Now, I’m thinking to be brave, you have to live while seeing the cost to others and try to make a difference where you can.