Today I testified before Congress in our nation’s capital. It reminded me of how silly partisan politics are. The hearing was called by a Commerce subcommittee to discuss the movie editing market, and particularly the recent federal court ruling that made companies like Clean Flicks illegal. I was invited to testify regarding the parental control industry and The Family Movie Act.
There is no pending legislation that we were debating. There were not pressing issues that needed determination. And in fact, there will likely be no action at all. Rather, the whole thing smacked of election-year grandstanding, making the Republicans look strong on family values and giving them an opportunity to kick around Hollywood, represented by a poor underling from the MPAA.
Ostensibly, we were discussing whether companies like Clean Flicks should be protected by Congress. And not surprisingly, the ayes and the nays were split by party. (Not surprisingly, because that’s how things work in Washington. If D.C. were on the ocean, even the surf would break along party lines.) Now I’m not sure why Democrats would tend to favor stronger copyright fair use laws, and Republicans lean for more lax standards in this area, but that’s the way it went. And I doubt that the Democrats on the committee have lower personal standards relative to movie content than the Republicans. I suppose it has something to do with a family value platform and the general left-wing support from Hollywood, but it makes no sense to me.
So everyone had their say and after two hours what we accomplished was mostly talk and I got on a plane and went home. My tax dollars hard at work. Must be a civil service job.
Isn't it a strange and strikingly inadequate superstructure that we americans have constructed around us? Our society praises efficacy and the maximization of resources and yet our public systems support an astounding amount of wasted time, money, and effort (not to mention words). Serious reformers have little backing - and, perhaps, little to offer - and yet no one appears to hold the reigns of this monster. There is a soothing grain of comfort in the idea that all governments and authorities (outside those commissioned from on high) will one day be swept away and replaced by something expectedly ideal. At this point, I can barely fathom how life might be under that divine regime. For now, all I can do is imagine all the people . . .
ReplyDeleteWell, if the present theocracy is any indication, there won't be any fewer meetings!
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