The State of the Union Address featured a side of President Clinton that the American people had probably never seen. Here was a man delivering a decently written speech, without any passion whatsoever. There was no bright hope, no deep empathy, and no strong conviction.
I typically do not agree with President Clinton's policy stances, but I have always loved to hear him speak. He paints the world with the brush of hope in his speeches, and he convinces us, through the power and optimism of his appeal, that it is still possible to do something that will change our world for the better. So what was wrong on Tuesday? Two letters: O.J. The fact that the major networks could not decide which event to cover (the annoucement of the O.J. Simpson civil trial verdict or the State of the Union Address) indicates that something is seriously wrong. The State of the Union Address is the primary forum in which a President "sets the agenda" of what he will attempt to accomplish in the year in which it is delivered, and in this special case, the agenda for Clinton's next term. The Simpson civil case, on the other hand, is the story of whether or not some washed up football has-been has to give up a few of his millions because he killed some people. I am not attempting to trivialize the murders of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman, but on a day in which two Israeli army helicopters collided over Palestine, killing over 150 Israeli soldiers, and the French Ambassador had a stroke, I think to give the announcement of the O.J. Simpson civil trial verdict preferential treatment over the filing in of the United States Senate into the House Chambers for the State of the Union Address (most networks did not switch to covering the address until only a few minutes before the speech began) indicates that the television medium, at least, cares little about the news, and more about entertainment.
Blaming the media is too easy, however. Television, the movies, and radio are nothing more than reflections of ourselves. People like us work in these mediums, and there is no media conspiracy to destroy the values of our nation. The media would not cover the O.J. civil trial if the American people did not watch. We want news to be entertaining and, frankly, the State of the Union Address is not entertaining.
It is here that we can explain the President’s lack of passion on Tuesday.
The president knew that he was in a competition for the nation’s attention with a celebrity murder trial. Suddenly the defining of the road ahead no longer seemed like a pursuit that interested the American people. That is when the President lost his fire. The words became meaningless.
Who cares about reforming the educational system? Sure, we love to talk about education, but only when the subject at hand is entertaining, like what kids do not know, or what the nation thinks about Ebonics. When the conversation moves to broad based reforms of the education system, or how communities can encourage volunteer tutoring, the nation suddenly loses interest.
Who cares about giving people who are unemployed the opportunity to get back on their feet? This is another issue that we seem to have a great deal of information about. We have plenty of information, but what about the process of obtaining a tenable solution to the United States welfare maladies? Well, that might be fun at first, but eventually it would get rather boring. Indeed, the United States is suffering from a nationwide case of attention deficit. We are bombarded with information, but we do not have the tools to interpret it. Worse, we no longer have a vision. We no longer know where we are going, or where we want to go.
Can anyone explain what the "American Dream" is anymore? It used to be the promise of a land of freedom, where a simple laborer could provide decently for a family: food on the table, and a roof over their heads. This, however, we now take for granted. Is it the promise of a compassionate society? This longer unites us, either. Indeed, what does unite the people of this land? Granted, we are all "Americans." But what does that mean, exactly? Sometimes, it seems like the only thing that unites us is that we all live on the same land.
People have to start demanding better. It takes commitment, action, participation, and good deal of common sense. Where do we want to go? How can we make this society better? How can we assist other countries? When will we return to space? There are so many things we can do, so many places that we can take this nation. None of these objectives can be reached, however, while we're watching the O.J. Simpson trial.
The question has been asked: "What is the State of the Union?" Unless we, the American people, start thinking about where we want to go in our nation, we may soon be forced to respond: "What Union?"