The Cosmopolitan Blog

Well, what a morning! I’m preparing breakfast and watching CNN as i do most Saturdays, and it’s just 1 bad breaking news after another: an American tourist is killed in Beijing, a bus-load of kids is killed in Texas, the Russians have invaded neighboring Georgia, Bernie Mac dies at 50 (totally didn’t see that one coming!) and John Edwards confesses to having an affair based on an investigation from the National Enquirer!

Um, hold up, can we spend some time on that last one please? The National Enquirer????? Since when do celebrities confess to something uncovered in the worst of the worst gossip rags? lol, ok, i’m over that one now.

I have to say though, I am SO tired of us getting shocked and exhasperated everytime it turns out that a politician has had an affair. You’d think after the 3rd one, we’d get bored, wouldn’t you? I mean, seriously, we got the mother-load with Bill Clinton, you’d think anyone after that was just inconsequential, no? Why does this stuff still make the headlines at the same level as a bus-load of kids killed in a bus crash?

Ok, look, i work in marketing, and one of the things you do in marketing is identify trends. And i think it’s safe to say, that, over the years, the trend seems to be that politicians are just like the rest of us, ALL OF THEM. Why do we we think that, just because they’ve chosen to be our representatives in government, they will be exempt from such temptations?

And i know many disagree with this, but, ok, so the man was having marital issues and strayed. Does this now annul everything he’s done in his political career? Hearing the anchors this morning, this will RUIN his career. Why? I mean, it’s our own fault if we thought he was THAT saintly that he was above human temptation, because then we’re only gonna hurt ourselves when we find out he isn’t.

And you know what, i’d much rather know that he’s human, because then i can relate to him a lot better. And if his vice is cheating on his wife, that makes him a normal red-blooded male, who, it’s good to know, is interested in women, which beats the alternative of us finding out he’s molested a child or raped a teenager, yes?

So let’s get some perspective here, people. John Edwards is still the same John Edwards some of you supported all these years and hoped would make the White House. He’s the same man, with the same dedication to his country. But, for reasons that we will never know, his marriage was going through troubles and he screwed up. It happens. Don’t read into it, this doesn’t allow you to predict whether or not he’d screw up in his career, we don’t know that, he could very well screw up in his career without having an affair.

UGH, this is a very frustrating morning, maybe i’ll just go back to bed. And, um, seriously? Bernie Mac passed away?? Now that’s sucky, he was so funny!!!

Well, i never considered myself an anarchist, but here you have it. I’m boycotting something. I’m boycotting CNN. Their tag line is “the most trusted name in news”. Seriously? How can we trust you, if you refuse to acknowledge that there are other countries out there. Dear CNN, did you know that the world does not, actually, revolve around the USA? That there are a few billion of us who don’t actually give a damn if we miss yet another Obama/Clinton debate? That taking a break from reporting on the primaries to spend 7 days talking about the New York governor’s affair is not actually good news reporting?

I used to fervently believe that Obama was the best democratic choice. Politics used to fascinate me. And now, CNN has single-handedly managed to turn me off politics. Maybe it’s cuz i’m generation X and i have the attention span of a goldfish, but seriously, a contest that lasts over 6 months, really, i promise you, looses steam very, very quickly.

Here is my plea to CNN, in the name of cosmopolitanism. We live on Earth. Earth is comprised of many countries. Each country, believe it or not, has newsworthy events. In order to up the awareness and IQ of your people, reporting on what is happening in other countries might actually be a good thing. Oh, and then, if you even spend just 10 minutes per hour reporting on what else is happening around the world, well then, maybe you could make a bold claim like being “the most trusted name in news”… And no, good looking anchors like Anderson Cooper not longer dissipate my anger.

But what makes me so mad (you know, like even MADDER than i was in the paragraph above!), and, unfortunately, i can’t really blame it on CNN, is the fact that i feel like we’re the only ones to see that the longer the democrats fight it out, the more power they’re giving to the republicans. I made a prediction on this blog a few months back, and i continue to maintain it. At the time, there were other democratic candidates, and i had said, if either Hillary or Obama get the nomination, then i guarantee the next POTUS will be a republican. I still believe that. Only time will tell, but in this case, pleeeease can time just hurry the hell up?

In my job in marketing, i have to study the web traffic to our site. I’m sure at CNN they have an entire team working on analysis viewership rates… and i wonder if they’ll notice a drop in viewership today, seeing that the Lost season premiere is on. I mean, let’s face it, there’s been NOTHING on tv these days, no one sits at lunch at work the next day ooohing and aaahing over the latest developments of their favorite series… it’s very sad… well, for us… Cuz for politicians and networks like CNN, i’m thinking their viewership has never been higher, they’re by default, the best entertainment there is on TV, with political debates and all…

Hehehe… so, um, does that mean that there’s a spin doctor somewhere who orchestrated the writer’s strike so that everyone HAS to watch the politics? Hmmm…

It’s strange, as women, when we hear of other successful women, we feel an extra desire to cheer them on… I’m pretty sure men don’t do this, I mean they don’t cheer other men on just ‘cuz they’re men, I guess we’ve just come that much further…

So i feel the need to acknowledge 2 woman that i greatly admire: Oprah and Christiane Amanpour, the CNN Chief International Correspondent… which, in itself, is funny, because Oprah called Christiane one of her personal heroes when CA appeared on O’s show.

*warning, tangent ahead*

Don’t get me wrong, there are many women i admire, i admire women everyday, my sister for representing the modern multitasker: 2.5 kids, 2 jobs, a spotless house, a successful marriage and an active social life. My best friend for having grown from a reckless teenager to a responsible, independent, profoundly well balanced and happy individual. My aunt for having made a name for herself in a fundamental Islamic country and having single-handedly taken the rights and options available to women miles forward. My mom for representing that older generation of women who believes in long term commitments and the true meaning of “’till death do us part”, standing strong in the face of adversity and dealing with the hard blows life can give you with perseverance and humility.

*end of tangent*

So I’m watching “God’s Warriors” on TV, a 6-hr series that looks at Jewish, Christian and Muslim fanaticism, Christiane took over 8 months to prepare this documentary. It’s a great documentary, and of course, i have tons of opinions on its content, but this post is about Christiane. She is originally Iranian, but she is Christian. She grew up in London and married a Jewish man. She’s a wife and a mother, but she’s also a reporter, and she puts herself in danger (she admits that she has become more cautious now that she’s a mother), but still, she searches for the truth, and looks to always put a human face to any situation… I found that “God’s Warriors”, amongst other things, helps us understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict so much better because she brings it down to stories of ordinary families and the challenges they face. She makes us understand how it is that a family, a person could have ended up in such a state of despair or such a belief that they can commit such violence and feel it’s the only way forward.

Christiane is not the only wonderful journalist i admire, there are many more, many, in fact, in my family, but she makes me proud to be a woman. As i watch the Muslim segment of “God’s Warriors”, i watch her sit there and interview men that tell her to her face how they think women are inferior, i watch her be respectful and listen intensely, bringing a mix of class and honesty to every interview. Above all, she lets you draw your own conclusions, she doesn’t force her opinion on her viewers.

I found this great quote from Christiane on Wikipedia:

“There are some situations one simply cannot be neutral about, because when you are neutral you are an accomplice. Objectivity doesn’t mean treating all sides equally. It means giving each side a hearing.”

She said this specifically when speaking about the Bosnian conflict in the 90s, but i can see this belief applied to all her pieces. It represents very much what I feel.

My apologies if you thought this post was about Oprah. I love Oprah, and i think she’s wonderful, and next time i feel inspired, i will devote a post entirely to her as well.