Lunatics at the asylum convention

Blogging, of course, is yet another artifact of the Information Age. With a few exceptions (none of which come to mind), blogs are poorly written, reactive and derivative. After gaining enough notoriety to attract attention from bloggers with opposing points of view, the political blogger (in particular) can then devote his space to flaming his opponents in a ceaseless roundelay of venomous opprobrium. I have watched the blogs of Eric Alterman and Glenn Greenwald degenerate into just such exercises, among many other examples.

Blog-based catfights are a form of entertainment, as news has become a form of entertainment. Once the concept of a rapid "news cycle" took firm root in the public consciousness, and lead stories were selected on the basis of their lurid entertainment value (Southern coed disappears in Aruba, etc.), the budget for serious investigative reporting dried up and the superficial reigned supreme. Following this, anyone with access to the Internet could then recycle the same news bits in an opinion blog and to an extent could have the same authority as the "reporters," who were also dependent on unverified sources and propaganda. Thus, as one reads through the repetitive rehashes on the Huffington Post, for example, one sees again and again the same factoids repackaged and contextualized in the style of the Blogger in question. These are narcissistic exercises, by and large, the Blogger restating what everyone else is saying but finding his perspective unique and important because of the way he's saying it.

Thus: "We didn't have enough troops." "Deficits don't matter." "Bush joked about finding WMD under his desk in the Oval Office." "Bremer disbanded the Iraqi army." "There is no link between the attacks of 9-11 and Iraq." "We are creating more terrorists in Iraq than we are killing." "Afghanistan is returning as a narco-state, and the Taliban are resurgent." "Iraq is in a civil war." "Iran is the big winner in the Iraqi conflict." "Over 45 million Americans have no health insurance." "Bush routinely violates the FISA law by his warrantless wiretapping." "China is buying up the U.S. through its purchase of U.S. Treasuries." "The government does not allow itself quantity discounts in dealing with Big Pharma." "The Republicans running for office in November are distancing themselves from Bush." "The disparity in wealth between rich and poor has increased with Bush's tax cuts."

Grab 2 or 3 such lines and build a blog piece. Mix in your perspective, your attitude, and presto! You too can be a pundit. What do you have when you're done? What unique contribution have you made to the intellectual edifice of American thought?

There are other facts that might draw the attention of a more curious and insightful reader. The American standard of living has been in steady decline since 1973, since the first Oil Shock. America's preeminent place among educated peoples of the First World has been in sharp decline since the 1950's. 75% of the American economy is now based on consumerism, and mostly buying things made in other countries. The United States is now the biggest debtor country and the biggest borrower in the world. America has no plan for handling its official national debt of $9 trillion, nor any idea (or hope) for dealing with its huge unfunded liabilities for social safety net programs. America is bankrupt. The American people derived more "income" during the period 2000 through 2005 by refinancing houses than by earning money at jobs.

The first set of circumstances, the Blogomania of the modern age, is related to the second set of circumstances. We have become a frivolous and indolent people well on our way to displacement (as usual in the course of World History) by the Golden Horde, the Tatars, the Barbarians, the Vandals. And when we sink out of sight, we'll blog about that too.