America: The Un-Serious Nation

The Lonely Centrist had this brilliant piece of analysis:

But here is where I think the country is on the "wrong track." According to one poll, one-third of Americans believe that the American government was behind the September 11 attacks. In other poll, forty-two percent of Americans believe gas prics are falling because George Bush is manipulating them. Meanwhile, our political leadership is going nuts of the story of a perverted congressman and his emails to congressional pages, while, as the Wall Street Journal's Daniel Henninger points out, the Stalinist hermit kingdom of North Korean prepares to conduct an underground nuclear test, and Europe throws in the towel on Iran's nuclear agenda, as Iran's political leader tells a mob screaming "Death to America" that nothing will stop Iran from enriching uranium. From the other side of the political spectrum, Peter Beinart of The New Republic points out that it seems to be a common belief on the farther reaches of the political left that President Bush and the Pope were engaged in a calculated conspiracy when the latter made his comments quoting Emperor Manuel II on the deficiencies of violence as a tool of religious conversion, and that this anti-Bush paranoia is preventing our nation from seriously defending freedom of speech.

These beliefs in 9/11 and gas price and papal conspiracies, and the fascination with a congressional sex scandal, are not the signs of a serious nation. If America is on the "wrong track," I think it is probably in our inability to debate issues seriously, or even to figure out which are the serious issues. (Links in original)

Americans, not necessarily America as a whole, are certainly un-serious when we demonstrate our inability to view the personal failings of one Congressman in a rationale light, even if there is a cover-up. Although I am loathe to use the word, the term decadence comes to mind. American's seem enthralled with things that, in the grand worldly scheme, don't seem that important. While Mark Foley and the pages he may have harassed/abused/seduced are tragic figures, the fact that we as a nation seem so engaged in the matter does not speak well of us as a nation. When so many people are so angry at one Administration that they see Rovian plots behind 9/11 (all evidence to the contrary) or Papal quotes, we have left behind the common sense practicality that drove America to become the greatest nation on Earth. I am not ready to say we have lost that stature, but one wonders if we no longer take serious things seriously.

Update: Thomas Sowell questions an unserious media in a similar vein.