ROME is burning…

As MSNBC, CNN, and much of the mainstream media are short reporting our nation’s downhill slide into an “economic depression”—Lebron is coming to South Beach and Lindsey Lohan is going to jail.

Why do I write of such trivia?

Because it seems that news of a Hollywood train wreck, and a basketball player’s choice of a new master are more important to most—but not all Americans.

We’re 80-plus days into the worst ecological disaster faced by our nation since the revolution that created her and the number one interview on FOX News for July 8th was with Lindsey Lohan’s ex-con father—not once...but twice.

Granted, FOX allotted standard time segments to the other top stories of the day—the Russian spy trade, The “Kill the Crackers”/New Black Panthers/DOJ Race Case, the sunken tourist boat in Pennsylvania and yes, BP’s pesky oil gusher—but there seemed to be no “hard break” cutoff for Lohan’s father who ranted about the enablers in his daughter’s life, his ex-wife and the paparazzi who meddle in his private life.

After hearing Michael Lohan drop an “F-bomb” live on Studio B during Shepard Smith’s interview; I was shocked to see the powers-that-be at Fox give him a second chance at Faux News fame--in primetime no less, with Sean Hannity!

Seven-thousand satellite-fed channels available on a Wednesday night and there was not a damned thing on T.V.!

Mind you—while it appears that I’m picking on FOX News, none, N-O-N-E of the other “Snooze Stations” had bothered to cover the “top stories” I mentioned--and the reason is Americans—most, not all—are more interested in gossip and sports, or the hottest new techie-toy, than they are about our nation’s current or future situation.

Case in point:

Thousands lined up in the days leading up to Thursday June 24, 2010 to insure their ability to purchase and sign up for Apple’s new 4G I-phone. Many slept in parking lots and in line for the opportunity.

Apple called the demand for the phone "off the charts" and was working to get phones into customers' hands as quickly as possible.

I’m sure—just think of the new two-year service contracts for all those “gotta-have-it” customers--and of the initial sales profits before the price on the thing is slashed in half just six-months from now.

Sean Hill, 39, a D.C. police officer who pre-ordered an iPhone, smiled proudly and held his up victoriously as he left the newly opened Apple store in the Georgetown neighborhood.

"I'm like a kid in a candy store," he said. "I'm probably going to spend all morning playing with it."

Have you seen the crime rate in D.C.? It seems like the police there are always playing with something.

In Aventura, Fla., Loren and Veronica McHenry held out hope after they ended up at the back of the line. They arrived at 9 p.m. Wednesday and were told no one was allowed on mall property overnight. When they returned the next morning, they learned that 120 people had camped out at a nearby parking lot.

"There's no coordination between the mall employees, security and law enforcement," said Mr. McHenry, 42, shaking his head in disbelief. "It's a mess."

Yep, it’s an effin shame. We can’t coordinate a cell phone sale at a shopping mall—so why should we expect BP and our national leadership to coordinate the response to a major disaster or fix the economy?

One thing’s for certain—Americans will stand in line for anything.

Whether it’s to be first in line on Black Friday for those holiday bargains, a years worth of free fast food or for a case of water and a bag of ice after a hurricane, Americans have proven—as if been trained--to stand in line for things they want—and that’s a good thing.

With the economy continuing to show little signs of life, the lines for free stuff are about to get much longer—only these lines are going to be at welfare processing centers and depleted food banks.

Quite simply, while the collective “we”—Americans—have allowed ourselves to be distracted by the World Cup, Li-lo, and Lebron--the government has failed—among other things--to extend unemployment benefits before they went on vacation—thus leaving those families who have been so dependent on the subsidy in a lurch.

But hey, not to worry—Lebron’s coming to South Beach and that’s gonna make a real difference in a whole lotta people’s lives! I can tell. I saw the fans joyously jumping about as they screamed in excitement—about a person they will never meet and whose successes will never impact them personally.

I know, it’s not all their fault—the T.V. was the babysitter for the latch-key generation of kids during the 70’s and 80’s—and the television, before the internet and social networking robbed us--lulled many Americans into a false sense of what’s important.

Those children—who we plopped in front of the boob-tube in their urine soaked diapers as soon as they could almost sit up—were fed a steady diet of commercial-based mindless programming that exposed them to all of the gotta-have-items-of-the-day that they begged mommy and daddy into submission for each night.

Some grew-up and evolved watching shows like Jerry Springer, Maury and Entertainment Tonight; while others became double-chinned, statistical experts, albeit not by advanced education--but by the teachings of ESPN.

These lords of the sports bar—mouth-breathing masters of the buffalo wing-n-beer pitcher special--can spout the most worthless stats about their sports heroes in a drunken stupor 24/7--yet most can’t run down a basketball court—much less hit the hoop—thanks to their years of dedicated “television inspired conditioning.”

It’s that conditioning that has clouded a generation of Americans ability to understand the decline of our nation’s standing in the free world and their future ability to watch Lebron or any of their favorite players play.

You see, if you’re unemployed or underemployed--you can’t pay for game tickets, cable, or food, or rent—but it’s OK cuz Lebron’s comin’ to Miami and Li-lo’s goin’ to jail—while Rome is burning.