Dirty Laundry
"People love it when you lose. They love dirty laundry."
It's election time. And for all you Don Henley fans out there, you know what I'm talking about. Dirty Laundry is Henley's song about the mud-hungry, pseudo-journalist news casters of the world. You can find a bit more about the song here. Because of the Republican's newest VP nominee, I find the words even more brilliant than they were back in '82.
Take a listen...
I make my living off the evening news
Just give me something-something I can use
People love it when you lose,
They love dirty laundry
Well, I coulda been an actor, but I wound up here
I just have to look good, I don't have to be clear
Come and whisper in my ear
Give us dirty laundry
Kick em when they're up
Kick em when they're down
Kick em when they're up
Kick em when they're down
Kick em when they're up
Kick em when they're down
Kick em when they're up
Kick em all around
We got the bubble-headed-bleach-blonde who
Comes on at five
She can tell you bout the plane crash with a gleam
In her eye
Its interesting when people die-
Give us dirty laundry
Can we film the operation?
Is the head dead yet?
You know, the boys in the newsroom got a
Running bet
Get the widow on the set!
We need dirty laundry
You don't really need to find out whats going on
You don't really want to know just how far its gone
Just leave well enough alone
Eat your dirty laundry
Kick em when they're up
Kick em when they're down
Kick em when they're up
Kick em when they're down
Kick em when they're up
Kick em when they're down
Kick em when they're stiff
Kick em all around
Dirty little secrets
Dirty little lies
We got our dirty little fingers in everybody's pie
We love to cut you down to size
We love dirty laundry
We can do the innuendo
We can dance and sing
When its said and done we haven't told you a thing
We all know that crap is king
Give us dirty laundry!
Watching the media coverage of this year's election is awfully hard to stomach for me. When I witness how Sarah Palin's personal life has been brought into the national media and skewed, it makes me wonder how and why anyone could ever run for office in this country.
I'm thankful that, for some people, the desire to serve the citizens of the US is so powerful that it overcomes having your past and present twisted and exaggerated -- or even fabricated -- in the media. Otherwise we'd have no risk takers, leaders or limit-pushers running for office.
Denis Waitley, a personal development leader, explains it in a way that finally makes sense to me. He says, the fire that burns another warms the general population in the sense that they can take comfort knowing that they don't have to be the victim of the day.
Henley is so right... "We love to cut you down to size. We love dirty laundry."
Keep it even,
Scott Kuehl
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