Comments on: Gloom http://ontapblog.com/2006/08/27/gloom/ Not Looking Out For You Since 2006 Mon, 01 Dec 2008 21:24:23 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.1 By: Gloom Ontap « Ennuipundit http://ontapblog.com/2006/08/27/gloom/#comment-2763 Gloom Ontap « Ennuipundit Tue, 29 Aug 2006 18:44:30 +0000 http://ontapblog.com/2006/08/27/gloom/#comment-2763 [...] Jim Geraghty as many of you know, actually all twelve of you ought to know by now, is a blogger whose work I very much respect and enjoy. This weekend the doom and gloom overtook him and he took some time explaining the gloom he feels. For many people around the world, America is their bogey man – except he doesn’t scare them, he reassures them. Their problems aren’t their fault. They can sit in the tea house all day in Egypt and bitch, complain, and spin conspiracy theories, or enjoy their 35 hour work week in France. Anyway – I find it tough to deal with this gloom. If I’m not quite an optimist, I always think that a solution can be achieved. (Certainly, the surest way to ensure a solution won’t be found is to deem the problem is unsolvable). Hell, if you want an example of incurable optimism, let’s talk football. I’m a Jets fan, and even in the face of what everyone predicts is a crappy season, I’m thinking, “If Pennington’s shoulder holds up, and he’s as good as people say he’s been this year in camp, and if Barlow can keep his mouth shut with the Hitler comments and just find holes and run through them, and if the new guys on the offensive line live up to the hype, and if Jerricho Cotchery is the rising star that he sounds like at WR, and if Laverneus Coles remains solid, and if they find somebody to just take up a lot of space at NT, and if they find a good fourth linebacker, and if the small army of talented young guys in the defensive backfield play smart… then we might just have a good year.” [...] […] Jim Geraghty as many of you know, actually all twelve of you ought to know by now, is a blogger whose work I very much respect and enjoy. This weekend the doom and gloom overtook him and he took some time explaining the gloom he feels. For many people around the world, America is their bogey man – except he doesn’t scare them, he reassures them. Their problems aren’t their fault. They can sit in the tea house all day in Egypt and bitch, complain, and spin conspiracy theories, or enjoy their 35 hour work week in France. Anyway – I find it tough to deal with this gloom. If I’m not quite an optimist, I always think that a solution can be achieved. (Certainly, the surest way to ensure a solution won’t be found is to deem the problem is unsolvable). Hell, if you want an example of incurable optimism, let’s talk football. I’m a Jets fan, and even in the face of what everyone predicts is a crappy season, I’m thinking, “If Pennington’s shoulder holds up, and he’s as good as people say he’s been this year in camp, and if Barlow can keep his mouth shut with the Hitler comments and just find holes and run through them, and if the new guys on the offensive line live up to the hype, and if Jerricho Cotchery is the rising star that he sounds like at WR, and if Laverneus Coles remains solid, and if they find somebody to just take up a lot of space at NT, and if they find a good fourth linebacker, and if the small army of talented young guys in the defensive backfield play smart… then we might just have a good year.” […]

]]> By: Sharon http://ontapblog.com/2006/08/27/gloom/#comment-2737 Sharon Mon, 28 Aug 2006 02:34:31 +0000 http://ontapblog.com/2006/08/27/gloom/#comment-2737 Sorry if this ends up being a duplicate post. I was typing a response when I lost what I was writing. I do think that the gloom that Jim describes is much more prevalent in the blogs and among folks who are closely monitoring world events than it is with average Americans. As I travel from coast to coast, I am hearing less and less about Iraq and 9/11. Iraq barely makes it on the news anymore and while 9/11 will be played up for the fifth anniversary, the American public has moved on from even a year ago when I started traveling for my new job. After the latest terror threat where we learned of a plot to bring down planes with the contents of hair gel and sports drink containers, travelers in most of the country took one day to adjust. They dumped their toothpaste, took off their shoes to go through security and packed the planes again. David Ignatius has been in Iraq for the last week and filed two surprisingly optimistic columns: <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/24/AR2006082401331.html" rel="nofollow">Returning Some Order to Iraq’s Mean Streets</a> and <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/25/AR2006082501237.html" rel="nofollow">Iraq: Worth Some Waiting</a>. On the other hand, the Democrat’s tote board for American military deaths is nowhere to be found since the 2500th death occurred in June. It is moving much too slowly to be effective. A few weeks ago, it seemed as if Hizb’allah had defeated Israel both militarily and in world opinion. Yet, there has been no great swell of fawning press coverage about Hizb’allah since then. Finally, the release of Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig suggests that Hamas leadership understand that killing journalists does their cause no good. Hamas can control the terrorists if enough political pressure is applied. There is much for which to be hopeful. I think that viewing the world through a computer screen or television newscast tends to block out the ordinary life that goes on in American, Iraqi, Turkish, and Israeli towns. Call me a cock-eyed optimist, and even though I, too, have moments of despair about the world situation, I think it’s all going to be alright. Sorry if this ends up being a duplicate post. I was typing a response when I lost what I was writing.

I do think that the gloom that Jim describes is much more prevalent in the blogs and among folks who are closely monitoring world events than it is with average Americans.

As I travel from coast to coast, I am hearing less and less about Iraq and 9/11. Iraq barely makes it on the news anymore and while 9/11 will be played up for the fifth anniversary, the American public has moved on from even a year ago when I started traveling for my new job.

After the latest terror threat where we learned of a plot to bring down planes with the contents of hair gel and sports drink containers, travelers in most of the country took one day to adjust. They dumped their toothpaste, took off their shoes to go through security and packed the planes again.

David Ignatius has been in Iraq for the last week and filed two surprisingly optimistic columns: Returning Some Order to Iraq’s Mean Streets and Iraq: Worth Some Waiting. On the other hand, the Democrat’s tote board for American military deaths is nowhere to be found since the 2500th death occurred in June. It is moving much too slowly to be effective.

A few weeks ago, it seemed as if Hizb’allah had defeated Israel both militarily and in world opinion. Yet, there has been no great swell of fawning press coverage about Hizb’allah since then.

Finally, the release of Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig suggests that Hamas leadership understand that killing journalists does their cause no good. Hamas can control the terrorists if enough political pressure is applied.

There is much for which to be hopeful. I think that viewing the world through a computer screen or television newscast tends to block out the ordinary life that goes on in American, Iraqi, Turkish, and Israeli towns. Call me a cock-eyed optimist, and even though I, too, have moments of despair about the world situation, I think it’s all going to be alright.

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