Go Vote

I have been having trouble dealing with some of the things people have said to me recently about this whole Presidential campaign and voting in general. This is what I think.

1. One of the most selfish things you can do as an American citizen is to not vote. By not voting, you are telling everyone around you that a) you are too good for the democratic process, b) you are too lazy to be a responsible citizen and c) you have no right to complain about anything related to government or politics for the next four years. That includes gas prices.
2. Uninformed, blind supporters of candidates need help. Every candidate has his own "fad" following, Clinton, Obama, Huckabee and Paul included. 99% of them couldn't tell you that person's stance on abortion, gay marriage, social security or socialized health care. I don't care what you believe in, but at least have a general idea of what it is you are supporting.
3. Uniformed, blind haters of candidates need even more help. "Oh, I hate Hilary because she is such a liberal," or "Ron Paul, what a joker, rLOVEution, what an even bigger joke" are not informed viewpoints. Why is Hilary liberal? What is liberal? Specific examples? Most people can't answer that question. Same with Ron Paul haters. My God, believe in something real people.

I don't care what people believe, but at least have a real reason to believe in something.

I have been thinking a lot lately about the WGA strike. The effects of the strike have already been felt on late night talk shows, and is beginning to cable and network television. Due to movie production being completed so far in advance of release dates, cinema may not be seriously hurt till next fall or next winter.

What bothers me the most is how TV is being affected. Almost every show this season has either been shortened by a few episodes, cut in half, brought in as a mid season replacement, or canceled altogether.

Some of my favorite shows, including Boston Legal, are running out of episodes. Scrubs, in it's last season, has already run out of shows, and the creator has stated that the final episodes may never air, including the series finale. At best, a modified series finale will be released on DVD once the writer's strike is over.

This is a show that has been as successful as a show can be in today's environment. Millions of viewers have tuned over the past seven years to see Scrubs, and now, it will not get it's intended ending.

I can sympathize with the writers. Internet streaming and downloads of their work is becoming increasingly popular. They should be compensated. Big media can do with compensating their writers with a shared percentage of the revenue.

That said, a large number of these writers are taking home a lot of money anyway. Yes, a lot of poor writers are out there that write crappy movies and TV pilots, but they get royalties if the shows are successful. If a deal is reached, its not like these writers will get a huge percentage of revenue. In the big picture, it will most likely be inconsequential.

I guess it all comes down to why they got into writing. Was it because they wanted to create something, or for the money? Writing is not a money business, so maybe some of these people need to rethink their careers.