4.08.2005

Wolf Blitzer: Media Whore Now on Koolaid Continuous Intravenous Drip

Aside from Wolf's ::cough: political ::cough:: reporting, I just heard him ask a Polish person (why does the name "Pole" never sound right to me?) if the Pope was by far the most famous and important Polish person of all time.

Earth to Wolf: Some people might say Lech Walesa.

What about Copernicus? Really, Wolf: Nic was no slouch. One of Einstein's most important contributors (Leopold) was a Pole. Drzewiecki - so-called father of gliding flight - was a Pole. History is replete with even more Polish poets, authors, and especially, scientists, intellectuals, educators, physicians, mathematicians than... yes, oh yes ... bad Polish jokes. I know this as a non-scientist and non-Pole who's never bothered to go out of my way to look up famous Poles or read Polish history.

Or would Copernicus not count because he's a scientist and... well... we know how Mr. Bush's White House feels about science.

But this is obviously about more than Wolf or the Pope. And yes, I realize Wolfie included "famous". But what does fame have to do with anything? We really have to stop thinking that the most important people of all time are only ones who get a lot of TV time. The Pope got a huge amount of TV time (and I'm not just talking about the last 8 days to two months) but Poland has a huge body of people who probably contributed at least as much - if not far more - to the world as a Pope in an era of 24 hour-a-day TV.

So while I know Poles and the world in general loved this Pope, JPII has some considerable company in the department of men and women who make significant contributions to the planet. You, Wolf, may be famous to some degree. But if you blinked off the earth tomorrow, we will not remember you existed.