Watching Obamavision

Ten seconds left in the game. Kobe Bryant shoots a three as the clock reads zero and the shot is…

 

WE INTERRUPT THIS BROADCAST TO PRESENT THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

 

And with that, history will soon be made.

 

The President is seizing control of the Emergency Alert System to present …himself.

 

Last week, the Federal Communications Commission and Homeland Security announced plans to have every radio and television station interrupt their broadcast with a mandatory test message from Barack Obama.

 

It's chilling.

 

This reminds me of the recent Tom Cruise remake of HG Wells' War Of The Worlds. The film describes aliens who bury themselves underground on earth, only to emerge years later when summoned to launch an all-out attack.

 

In this case, the aliens hidden underground are found in the form of  little black boxes that have been installed by Federal mandate  in every cable and broadcast radio and TV station in America. These boxes now allow Washington to seize control of the host broadcast station with the flip of a switch. 

 

Up until now, the alien boxes have remained secretly hidden from public knowledge. But our president has decided it is time to emerge.

 

With the system  complete, our great leader has determined that he should be the first to test drive this awesome force of technology.

 

Ray Somich, President  of  WELW Radio in Eastlake, fears the "boy who cried wolf" syndrome may apply. Somich argues that   with mandatory Presidential  interruptions of a broadcast,  a true emergency broadcast might be ignored by cynical consumers who assume it's Obama at it again with another test.

 

Somich is right, but I am more disturbed by the idea that the President can now force his voice and image before us, whether we want it or not.

 

 Cartoons or cooking shows. History  Channel or Hybrid hogs.  O'Reilly or The Office. He is coming at you, no matter what you are viewing or listening to.

 

 

The President should  resist the urge to force himself into our homes. He may not be using battering rams to break down the door, but make no mistake.

 

Americans won't like it. And some will fear it.

 

And some, like me, believe making the face and voice of the President ubiquitous is another step toward the Brave New World that Aldous Huxley imagined when he portrayed a society where freedom is but a distant memory.

 

Please don't do this, Mr. President. Those black boxes are reserved for emergency messages.

 

We will watch you when we choose to.

 

It's bad enough when we worry that Big Brother is watching us.

 

 Now Big Brother is forcing us to watch him?