Overexposure

I have to say that the endless coverage of Reagan's funeral is starting to grate. Like every other major world event, the media has decided that pummeling their viewers with repeated nonsense will force them to care, one way or another. Don't get me wrong, he was a loved president (by some) and it's been a while since we've had a loved president die in the US, but give me a break. CNN just showed a "video diary" of a kid who took a road trip to Reagan's funeral, a young Republican. The first thing this young Republican says is, "I was six years old when Reagan left office."

And I thought, wait a fucking second. I was six years old when Reagan was on television explaining how he had no recollection of ever telling people to destroy evidence of selling weapons to Iran in exchange for funds to funnel to central American countries, years before he left office.

The national perception of Reagan right now seems to be one of all wrongs being forgiven. I realize that it's considered disrespectful to bring up negative things about recently deceased people, but for crying out loud, let's not elevate them to sainthood prematurely. Are we really that starved for good role models and heros that we now have to artificially create them through media blitzes and selective memory?

There are those that would say that's all role models and heros have ever been (and I would tend to agree), but if that's the case, why don't we instead recognize flaws as part of the larger package and say, hey, this guy had his faults, but all around he's OK.

I just don't understand people sometimes.