I
n “Brave New World,” Aldous Huxley’s iconic dystopian novel, the oppressive power structure uses sensationalist media to distract members of the fictional society from more pressing social issues.
Today, the American media is using these same tactics of distraction and distortion.
If you haven’t heard yet, President Barack Obama has fallen victim to yet another absurd media attack. Recently, while exiting the Marine One chopper, the president offered a right-hand salute to two Marines.
Critics, particularly those on Fox News, are outraged because Obama happened to have a cup of what they speculated to be chai tea in his right hand when he gave the salute.
Retired Lt. Col. Michael Cermele called Obama a “jerk” for his perceived indifference during what is now being called the “latte salute.”
Fox News’ Elisabeth Hasselbeck tried to address what some would call an unintentional act of disrespect on Obama’s end, saying, “When you’re not intending to do something, you could be intending to do something.”
Hasselbeck’s nonsensical statement seeks to criminalize the president for an action that he probably hardly gave any thought to at all.
The pundits at Fox News and other conservative media outlets are expressing outrage over this ridiculous, trivial non-issue.
They are essentially asking: How could the U.S. president be so careless as to not think about switching his cup from his right hand to his left before saluting?
Here’s an answer for them: Because there are many, many more important things for the U.S. president to be thinking about.
The 2014 U.N. Climate Summit is fast approaching. At this conference, world leaders will discuss the current and future effects of climate change on our world and society and what political leaders can do to counteract them.
The U.S. is also dealing with recent rumors of ISIS planning to attack New York City’s subway system and fly its flag over the White House to symbolize its siege on America.
American society is dealing with a series of complex and serious social issues.
There is still racially charged social unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, after the death of Michael Brown.
Gender inequality, which was addressed by U.N. Women Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson in a recent speech promoting the HeForShe campaign, is another serious issue political leaders are grappling with.
The president may have been thinking about any one of these things when he gave the so-called “latte salute.”
Any of it would have been significantly more important than switching his coffee cup to the other hand to salute the Marines greeting his helicopter.
I would challenge anyone who sees the “latte salute” as a symbol of Obama’s disrespect to our troops to take a step back and look at the big picture.
If we are seeking to be socially aware and educated citizens of the U.S. and the world, we must do a better job of filtering the content our mass media outlets present to us.
The media should not be allowed to write the narrative and choose the lens through which we view the world.
Conservative commentators have vilified Obama for his “latte salute,” even though George W. Bush would often awkwardly salute the troops while holding his pet schnauzer, Barney.
For the record, I don’t think Bush deserved to be criticized for his own “doggie salute.” It simply just isn’t that important.
If we allow the media to convince us that these trivial controversies are the most important issues facing America today, we risk falling into the same dystopian state as the society depicted in “Brave New World.”
There are so many issues and threats American voters and political leaders must confront in the coming years.
The “latte salute” controversy does nothing but place unnecessary focus on an issue that distracts from the real problems we face.
TehQuin Forbes is a UF sociology junior. His columns appear on Mondays.
