Last week, the mass media's endless appetite for sensationalism was again satisfied thanks to South Carolina's own Joe Wilson. Representative Wilson's timely interjection into the President's address gave news outlets a perfect excuse to ignore the very real (and evidently uninteresting) issue at stake and instead focus on the kind of politically fueled controversy American's love to watch.
We know now, thanks to the public statement he released shortly after the fact, that Rep. Wilson regrets his actions and that he's learned a valuable lesson in humility. Besides, it was never his intention to rudely interrupt the President, he just momentarily lost control of himself because he cares so very much.
Despite his public admission of regret, there's no doubt that Wilson isn't a little pleased with the way events have panned out. What politician wouldn't welcome the national attention and public outpouring of support? He's a hero for all the Americans who share in his vehement disdain for the President and these supporters have flooded his campaign with cash.
Ok, I admit it. I'm more than a little skeptical of Wilson's claim that his outburst was an entirely spontaneous reaction. It's unfathomable to me that a grown man, an elected official, who is listening along all of Congress to a Presidential address would just unthinkingly blurt the first thing that popped into his brain, no matter how passionately his feelings on the subject may be.
It's just too difficult to believe that an elected official could have such little control over his own actions in public. Wilson's outburst makes far more sense as the calculated gambit of an ambitiously clever politician. Many politicians, from both sides of the aisle, have been co-opting the health care debate as a means of furthering their own selfish interests, whats one more name in the pile?
Lacking any other reasonable explanation, we're left to conclude one of two things. Joe Wilson, Representative of the great state of South Carolina, is either another in the long line of opportunistic politicians more than willing to trade on populist anger for their own advancement, or a man possessed of a frighteningly low level of self-control has somehow become a powerful state official.
If anyone reading this entry has a more reasonable explanation, please contribute your thoughts. I'm curious to hear a less cynical observation.
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4 comments:
Interesting notion, but if you look Wilson up, he's got a track record of outbursts like this. Now, it could be that it's part of his "character", as it were, but the idea that someone would base his whole career around being the Angry Dumb Guy seems a little far-fetched. I mean, it seems to work for Limbaugh and O'Reilly, but they don't have to worry about reelection. I do, however, think that this outburst did exactly what it was supposed to do: distract from the real issues.
I avoided developing any strong feelings on Joe Wilson.
Senator Wilson acted harshly, unprofessionally, and emotionally, much as I see others across all walks of life do. It is human. That does not justify him, especially given his high role in society and the unsupported nature of his accusation. I can’t say I think less of him, because I never knew of him in the first place.
The exact same goes for Van Jones, or whoever that other guy is that seems to be a hot topic. Media outlets run with these displays of human weakness as fodder for conversation, and invent new ways of making them even more hot.
I avoid taking any of them seriously unless there is substantial grounds to do so.
I suspect that he is in-between the two explanations that you made. They are both probably true.
He is far from alone too, and I don’t want to imply that the ranks of either party are clean.
Like you say, he is one of countless people who are:
A: Opportunistic politicians cashing in on political sentiment for short-term gain.
B: Emotional humans who lack self-control or thoughtfulness, but are nevertheless elevated to high rank.
Sgt. Obvious,
Wilson's reputation as a hot-head may be well-deserved, but I've yet to see anything he's done that even approaches his recent behavior.
It's important to remember, that while such behavior may be frowned upon by the majority of the country, many citizens of South Carolina feel differently.
Wilson should be well aware of the current mood within his state and just how his behavior would be viewed.
Chris,
I agree with a lot of what you're saying. It's important to examine this issue in as unemotional manner as possible.
I have to admit that over time, Wilson's outburst has needled its way into my skin.
I'm going to step away from this issue in an effort to gain some perspective.
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