Where the Newsroom goes wrong and the idolatry of Nationalism

Over the last few days I have had the chance to catch up on a few episodes of my new favourite television show the Newsroom. It is a powerful show about journalists working to properly inform voters about political and economic forces running their country. So far it has been a show which has stood for truth, equality, and democracy. Unfortunately this has not been true for the most recent episode I watched where the center of the plot surrounds the killing of Osama Bin Laden and the relief/excitement everyone has at the declaration of his death. Osama Bin Laden was a pretty awful guy. He manipulated his own people into believing in him as a spiritual leader and force for good against western powers, all while accepting money from the United States. He has also likely been behind several violent attacks against opposition countries including American embassies in east Africa. However, there is very little evidence he had anything to do with the 9/11 attacks. He did not take credit for the attacks until three years after, and had repeatedly denied he had anything to do with them up until then, though he praised whoever did commit the atrocity. It seems all to convenient for him to claim credibility for the attacks in '04 and would use his new stage to further his message of hate.

I don't like Osama Bin Laden, but the Newsroom has still lost its integrity with me at this episode. While the show tries to come off as a supporter of libertarian thought, it reeks of a nationalistic liberal agenda. The killing of Osama Bin Laden was plain and simply about making the American people feel better about themselves and their country. We caught the bad guy, America is safe, secure, and indestructible once again. Don't mess with America or you will go down like Bin Laden.

It was another Canada yesterday, another year I felt like a Jehovah's Witness on Halloween. I don't celebrate Canada day. It's not because we're a country that supports the abuse of the homeless so we can play sports with other countries, its not because one segment of our population believes justice is locking people up and throwing away the key, while another segment celebrates doctor's who kill unborn babies. It is because Jesus Christ tells me that I am a citizen of absurd grace, I am subject to a King who despite his anger towards injustice loves Osama Bin Laden. While Barack Obama understands very little about theology, he has one thing right about Jesus Christ, His teachings will never cohere with the American ideology. You cannot support the absurd message of Jesus of Christ and support nationalism, it will simply never make sense.