Mad as Hell

Although “Network” is an older film, I had never seen it. Howard Beale urges viewers to open their windows, lean out and yell, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore.”

Although most of the events depicted in the movie are from the 1970s, they could be now. There was massive unemployment, unpredictable fuel supplies and institutions in America were being gobbled up by foreign ownership. Network sports and entertainment programs are still used to divert people from problems.

The Tea Party movement is people saying, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore.” Network news tries to marginalize this movement. Local media tries to marginalize critics of the Madison Edgewater project and plowing the roads in Madison. A number of cars here have liberal stickers on their bumpers.

A car I followed yesterday had a really different sticker. “I Miss Reagan,” it said. “So do I,” I said out loud. The danger to Democrats in Wisconsin and nationally, is that many will say on Election Day, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore.”