The lead story on the NBC Nightly News last night had nothing to do with Pakistan, Afghanistan or the health care debate (three deadly fire zones); it was about the Northwest Airlines flight that flew past its intended destination, the Minneapolis airport, while the people who were supposed to be flying it were either napping or arguing.
Nobody died, as my mother used to say and maybe it was just the what-the-hell factor that put it at the top of the hour. (Today’s New York Times put the story on the inside, while Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal — now with more outrage! — placed it above the fold on the front page, under the hed Wandering Flight Spurs Nap Probe.) Anchor Brian Williams knows what his viewers want — more stories about official incompetence — but he may have also sensed its symbolic import. And it has nothing to do with flying.
Most rage comes from a sense of powerlessness. Trust me. And politically, globally, locally a lot of people feel something less than empowered right now. You say you have a skill or craft that you have practiced your entire life, probably went to college to pursue and have been working away since then, visions of travel and retirement in your head? Or you can’t understand how the people who caused this financial downturn have escaped unscathed — and in some cases have been rewarded? Or that you can’t believe that the people in Washington/the state capitol/city hall are fighting instead of dealing with the mounting crises? Shall I cue the laugh track now?
If the car goes off the road, I don’t think the kids in the back seat care if mom & dad were arguing or sleeping. If the plane misses the runway by 150 miles even the seasoned traveler, who knows most flights are guided by autopilot, has cause to be alarmed. (For the record, the NWA pilots say they were having a “heated discussion over airline policy and lost situational awareness” — try that line the next time you come home drunk!) In my mind arguing might be worse; it seems a more intentional waste of time and energy.
Take the Obama administration’s battle with Fox News. It’s already proven to be a distraction, giving Herr Beck & his ilk more cause to feel slighted and even the rest of the media now feels obliged to cover it — when there is so much more deserving our attention. Whatever the White House’s motives (and honestly, did they think Fox was going to play fair, or nice?) it’s time to drop it, let their reporters back in the loop and move on. This is not the time for autopilot.