“Reality TV” Meets Real World

History Channel has a new TV show called American Pickers. On a recent episode (entitled “Frank’s Gamble,” not yet available for internet viewing), the pickers find a treasure trove of junk behind a wall of politically incorrect anti-government signs, like “Sure you can trust the government — just ask an Indian” and “Love my country, fear my government.” The History Channel pickers were predictably nervous; they did persevere, and you can watch this episode again later in the month. How is it that a private individual’s signs suggesting skepticism of our government are treated with alarm, while the next day’s news was about our government (and NATO — is there a difference?) blatantly lying about a mass murder (apparently routine) that occurred in Afghanistan last month? It is already the mainstream opinion that the US government lied about the rationale for invasion of Iraq — to the extent that Matt Damon’s “Green Zone” is accepted as factual (even while the government and defenders of military “heroes” deny any government conspiracy to start a war). Convergence of the “government cannot be trusted” theme across class lines, and in spite of government/media efforts, has been happening for a while, and it is nice to see it bubbling up in more and more places. Of course, LewRockwell.com does its part!

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