freeSpeech: Morgan Spurlock
It seems like every time I turn on the TV, some "reputable" news source tells me how we're a nation divided … liberal, conservative, red state, blue state, right, wrong, us, them, taste's great, less filling, you name it.
Well I don't buy it. You see, today's news has become just like professional wrestling.
When Hulk Hogan puts his face right up to the camera and tells Randy Savage that, "My 22 inch pythons mean the end of you, brother," he's a mirror image of the politicians, the pundits, the spin doctors, the pitchmen and the PR flunkies that put their faces right up to hundreds of cameras everyday and tell us how they're right, and how the other guys are out of their minds.
Well, let me tell you something brother, I've traveled to every state in this great nation ... well, every state except Maine, but that's only because they don't take off their long johns until May.
And what I've discovered in my travels is that we're not a nation divided at all, we're just a country that's buying into the Smackdown hype.
Truth is, most of us don't live on the extreme ends they like to portray, the majority of us are camped out here in the middle. But nobody wants to hear what we have to say because we don't foam at the mouth, call your mama names or say anything that's gonna juice the ratings. And that's what its all about. It's all about the grandstanding, the name-calling, and the yelling into the camera.
Well don't believe the hype - change in this country doesn't come from the person with the greatest decibels.
Freedom of Speech has a purpose: to make this the best nation we can dream of. If we can say anything, if we can have a real civil discourse, then and only then will we find the best solutions to our problems. Without that, it's just showbiz.
Academy Award-nominated director Morgan Spurlock is the creator and producer of FX's critically acclaimed and award-winning series, "30 Days." Spurlock's career spans film, non-fiction literature, television and theatre. His first feature film, "Super Size me," was released in 2004 and went on to become the sixth highest grossing box office documentary of all time. Spurlock authored "Don't Eat This Book," which picks up where the film — following Spurlock's experiment to eat only fast food for a month — leaves off.
Spurlock is a native of West Virginia and a graduate of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. He has conceived and created more than 60 projects during his 12 years in the industry. In addition to writing, producing and directing, he continues speaking around the nation talking about obesity, the effect of fast food and the entertainment industry, inspiring students and adults to take responsibility for their own lives and health.
Click here to read his blog.