Can Zombies Join the Priesthood?

London calling to the imitation zone
Forget it, brother, you can go it alone
London calling to the zombies of death
Quit holding out, and draw another breath
--London Calling, The Clash

If you think that I don't know
about the little tricks you play
And never see you when deliberately
you put things in my way
--I Can See For Miles, The Who
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Does the entertainment industry have a responsibility to the public to portray terrorism in a realistic, unemotional manner? Are the concepts entertainment and responsibility mutually-exclusive? Should they be?

The latest episode of New York City police drama is a case in point.

Three sleeper al Qaeda agents awoke one day and decided to conduct a biological attack on the NYC subway system using a mutated virus. How they got it, moved it, etc. is not addressed. Probably the missing mobile germ units that Saddam hid so cleverly re-surfaced in Schenectaday. Probably, they were in front of our very eyes operating as Mexican burrito trucks on Broadway!

Who knows, but the story line was pure fantasy, with a Churchillian subplot (Japan's 1995 Sarin attack scabbed onto haji?)

Churchill posed the question: Do we warn the people and compromise the element of surprise, or do we hold a tight grip on the intelligence? He made the decision to allow the German air attacks on London, thereby securing the Enigma machine from German knowledge.

This program was a nice rehash of the old argument (with the fictional twist that it saved the lives of 2 1/2 million people.) The point is, there are a lot of people in never-never land who believe these serials reflect reality, and should there be any balance in the portrayals?

There is no credible way that a group could make, transport and disseminate a biological agent purported to have no antidote or immunization; it was a scenario as fantastic as zombies joining the priesthood. After the terrorists were arrested -- not "captured" -- the NYPD released a cover story reporting that the event was actually a training incident.

In today's world, every self-important government security type would be crawling out of the woodwork trying to grab some credit for thwarting such an attack, no matter how non-viable. The days of discretion and modesty are gone.

The Bouncing Balls

--Wow. You have some beautiful balls.
--They’re bigger than I expected.
--I know. A lot of people tell me that
--Schweddy Balls skit,
fr. Saturday Night Live

After all, is football a game or a religion?
The people of this country have allowed sports
to get completely out of hand.
--Howard Cosell
____________________

for Publius

Rangers has survived another year of March Madness, and must confess that he just does not get it.

Some men chase little white balls, some kick oblong balls downfield, some bounce it and throw it through a hoop, hit it over a net, catch and sling it in a pala, some run it, throw it or hit it with a racquet, club, stick, bat or mallet, on or off a horse. Some ping them through pinball machines, others poke them with a cue. This sums up our entertainment lives: We are fascinated with little balls, and they become the center of our daily discussion, and by extension, the people who play with the balls.

Ranger is perplexed.

What is the fascination? In our first major combat operations in Afghanistan the planners named the operations after sports teams. Our minds are filled with these inanities -- but why?

Then he thinks about the fabulous wealth of the owners, players, announcers and networks due to these events, which are nothing but diversions from reality. How and why do we integrate that vicarious experience of watching play into our lives? Is it escapism, or does it serve a constructive purpose? It's only a game, right?

President Obama recently took the British Prime Minister to a college basketball game -- a big deal in the press. We would have been more impressed if he had spent even one half of a sporting event discussing how to get out of our war in Afghanistan and how to prevent future such incidents.

That would be statesmanship, which of course why we elect leaders. Sportsmanship is another beast. Contrary to popular conception, sports have no relationship to our lives at any level; if they do, you can send me to the locker room. If any of our sports-loving readers would care to pitch in, we'd be interested in your take.

If life were a game, the U.S. would be in the penalty box.