Stardate 20011012.0320 (On Screen): There are gestures which are useful, and those which are empty. In the wake of the WTC bombing, a lot of people are eager to show how patriotic they are, and to "support" the war effort and our nation. That part's fine, but some actions are more useless than others. Playing "God Bless America" during seventh inning stretch at a baseball game is pretty much useless. And a plan by employees of two airlines to run a relay race to carry an American flag from Boston to Los Angeles is equally useless, if not completely bizarre. What, exactly, is it supposed to prove? What possible good does it do, except to make those who participate feel as if they've participated? It's a crass publicity stunt; what it's
really trying to say is "Flying on a jet is a patriotic duty" -- so to prove that, they're going to
run? (Maybe by showing how much longer it will take compared to a jet flight?)
(discussion in progress)
