Why My Dad Hates Colin Cowherd

OK, I promise that at some point I am going to get back to the economy, but I just had an epiphany and I have to share it with you, dear readers. So today, I was again listening to Colin Cowherd (ironically that fact proves his point, but I'm right god damn it), and he and Trey Wingo (NFL Live host and kind of a deushbag) and Mark Schlereth (sometimes I really like him, and sometimes he is a tremendous tool--we're talking double lock, power grip, ultra duty, beefcake strength) are talking this morning about the whole Rush Limbaugh/Rams fiasco (by the way, apparently they didn't have the balls to read or discuss my response--not surprising--and no, I don't think its advisable to use this many parenthetical statements in one sentence, but fuck it, I'm not teaching English right now--put that in your pipe and smoke it Dom).
Anyway, as usual, they are just really congratulating themselves on being successful and rich and right about everything, and they say, well, you can tell that Rush is just a super great guy because he elicits such a strong response, be it positive or negative. From there they seemed to collectively decide that the best kind of a radio/television host or newspaper columnist is one that horrifies and alienates half of his audience, while vindicating and glorifying the other half. And why? Because that generates ratings and interest and big surprise--it makes the most money. Initially I just sat there kind of disgusted, because as anyone knows whose ever been around a bunch of rich white men congratulating themselves on being pompous, you realize that it is this kind of narcissism that perpetuates poverty, corrupts government, and justifies war carried out for the purpose of protecting national security/economic interests--and more importantly, as everyone knows, I hate bragging unless I'm the one doing it.
But then it hit me--this is why my dad hates Colin Cowherd (he, because of a stronger moral imperative than I can muster, refuses to listen to the Herd anymore). Cowherd espouses exactly the kind thinking that caused our nation's economic collapse: nothing matters but the bottom line, making money, and being politically ambiguous. "Winning isn't everything, its the only thing."(1) That may sound nice, and it may seem appropriate for a sports talk show, but when you apply it to the housing market or the stock market, you start to see why our economy is in deep fucking shit.
Indeed, that is exactly what mortgage brokers wanted to do, its exactly what the banks thought, and it might as well be the mantra for the Republican party as well (and judging by the assclown health care bill we are probably going to get, half the Dems as well). Our society has become too obsessed with the appearance of success, with making money for money's sake. Gordon Gecko was wrong. In fact, he was a fuckhead. Greed is not good, at least not pure unadulterated, unregulated, unashamed greed.
In fact, it reminds me of a quote in Jurassic Park (the first, and only good one), in which the physicist, Dr. Malcolm, says, in objection to the park, "The problem with scientific power you've used is it didn't require any discipline to attain it. You read what others had done and you took the next step. You didn't earn the knowledge yourselves, so you don't take the responsibility for it. You stood on the shoulders of geniuses to accomplish something as fast as you could, and before you knew what you had, you patented it, packaged it, slapped in on a plastic lunch box, and now you want to sell it."
The problem with Rush Limbaugh, and a whole hell of a lot of people in our society, is that they do something purely for personal profit, regardless of whether or not it is a good thing to do. In other words, there is no responsibility. MTV glorifies wealth and the objectification of human beings in a way that is criminal, but somehow that's OK, because kids watch it, and it makes them money. Other networks put miscreants and people that engage in disgusting behavior on reality shows because it makes them money. Limbaugh lies to his audience on a regular basis to make money, stock brokers and mortgage brokers bought and sold bad housing loans to make money, health insurance companies deny their clients necessary, life sustaining procedures to make money. The grocer who owned the corner store and stood behind his products has been outmaneuvered by the travelling salesman and the faceless corporation that care for nothing but to sell their product and leave as quickly as possible so they don't have to take responsibility for them.
My dad hates Cowherd because he justifies it. He and his cronies justify the love of money for money's sake, the triumph of wealth and comfort over the externalities (an economic term for the unintended consequences of a particular activity) that arise from the business of profiteering.
Sure, money matters. Anyone who tells you it doesn't is probably working for Pat Robertson and the 700 club, or some other two faced evangelist taking advantage of his flock. Money matters, but not at the expense of our humanity. In the words again, of Dr. Malcolm: "Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn't stop to think if they should. Science can create pesticides, but it can't tell us not to use them. Science can make a nuclear reactor, but it can't tell us not to build it!"
(1) This quote had often been attributed to Vince Lombardi, but it was actually first uttered by UCLA coach Harry Russel "Red" Sanders.