Field Trip to the Museum of Television & Radio, Vol. 2: How Our Interns Spent Their Summer Vacations

As the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approaches, I spent my day at the Museum of Television & Radio watching news footage of the event, and slowly bringing myself to a boil. Most memorable was the coverage on Anderson Cooper 360, where the CNN host famously tore down Sen. Mary Landrieu for thanking politicians while people were dying in the streets. I felt embarrassed by the senator’s actions: she not only made a fool of herself, but she made a fool out of the Democratic party and this great country.

This got me thinking about the focus of our lawmakers. When your government fails on such a level, you wonder how politicians have time to worry about things like indecency on television. What’s far more indecent is that a fraction of the population affected by Katrina are back in their homes, and caskets brought home from Iraq can’t be shown on television. It reminds me of Larry Flynt’s quote: "You take a picture of a murder, which is illegal, and you can win Picture of the Year for Time Magazine. You take a picture of two people having sex, which is not illegal, and you can get thrown in jail."

Focusing on indecency when there are so many better things we can be worrying about is revolting.

By Scotty C. the Intern