by R. Fawkes

Created on: May 04, 2007   Last Updated: February 09, 2010

We have a problem. A BIG problem. As soon as I mention it, everyone will know what I'm talking about. Unfortunately, it's a problem that we can't fix. At least, that's what it seems.

Flip on the television. Turn on your radio. Read the newspaper. Tell me something I didn't hear, and I'll tell you what really doesn't matter. For example, take the recent Don Imus debacle. I had never even heard about the man until he made a snotty racial slur. All of a sudden, Boris in Herzegovina knows who he is, and wonders why he should care. I wonder who he is, and why I should care.

Don Imus, as I soon determined, was a shock jock comparable to Howard Stern in some respects. Something tells me his comment about basketball players was probably not the most offensive statement that has emitted from his lips. So why did every newspaper, radio station, television program, and weblog pick up on it? I'm not positive, but I've got a pretty good idea.

Over the past few decades, an American has no longer been an American. We've been white and black, Hispanic and Oriental, male and female, minor and major, Democratic and Republican. We have to slice and dice every part of the American pie to accommodate one sect or the other, which has only resulted in tearing the nation apart. No longer do we band together as "One Nation Under God." Now we're the "Many Factions Under One Flag." Our sense of patriotism is being stripped from us, and the media is mostly to blame. My point?

What if Howard Stern had been the one to say, you know, that divisive racial slur? Would anyone have noticed? Not unless you were tuned in. What if Dave Chappelle had expressed this thought in one of his comedy acts? Would anyone have noticed? Not likely. These two don't get off scot-free with everything, but nobody's ever screamed "Fire him!" as loudly as they have in the case of Don Imus.

One of the most appealing aspects of America is the right to the freedom of the press. We are allowed to print, write, publish, air, televise, and yes, say, anything we please. Sometimes there are consequences to our actions, but nonetheless, it is within our Constitutional right to do just that. So will someone please tell me why the minute one tactless individual blurts three words an entire nation goes into panic and screams for an apology? Why do we want an apology? If the speaker really didn't mean what he said the first time around, why would he have said it at all? The only thing he would be sorry about is that he's getting

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