America: A Place You Can Rant!

Is this a great country or what?
Folks can rant over whatever they want with relative impunity.
Hey, it's our right, isn't it?

Now, even a two-bit wall street TV personality, with a penchant for ranting has created what may be his 15 minutes of fame, as Andy Warhol might say.
In a selfish tirade about imagined injustice to himself, this particular ranter chose to zero in on the home foreclosure rescue plan, saying he didn't want to pay for his neighbor's supposed advantage in maybe qualifying for a home loan renegotiation.
Huh?
Some neighborliness!
Who wants a neighbor like that?

While this particular rant does resonate among many who have been more prudent or fortunate, its very mean spiritedness undermines what its message may be.
It's too bad that political demagogues actually rise to echo this rant because that is not helpful to the home loan rescue plan's success, or its perceived chances for success - which at this stage is just as important.

I suspect White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs may have been right when he opined this particular ranter had not bothered to even read what he was ranting about.
And, the offer to help him through the plain language of the measure was accompanied by an offer of a cup of coffee - decaf.
That last element is instructive in analyzing many tirades that come to be called rants.
That is because they often contain equal parts of ignorance and emotion.

But, you know, our democracy is actually built for this kind of abuse and questioning, ironically because of the very wide-spread publicity it attracts.
A moderating effect usually transpires as calmer heads evaluate such rants and relegate them to whatever recycle bin is appropriate.
During times of such dire national concern it is a comfort to know that most Americans remain the caring human beings they are and have always been!

Lord knows, I've had a rant or two myself, and sometimes it does help to let off steam on some matter of frustration.
But, to do that kind of rant in what amounts to hollering 'fire' in a crowded building, seems mainly irresponsible and reprehensible.
I hope our society evaluates this particular rant that way, because that is richly deserved!
Certainly, this ranter should not benefit from his 15 minutes of fame, and thereby encourage other such stupid -but legal- acts.
But, who knows what evil lies in the heart of men/
Only the Shadow knows.