Bush approval rating hits new low and a big distant star explodes: so much for heroes
Dan Brawner
May 09, 2007
What have we got against heroes? What have they ever done to us that we are so glad to see them fall? Maybe it started with Nixon. Or maybe Zeus. But Newsweek just released their latest poll that shows President Bush’s approval dropped to 28 percent, the lowest of any president since Jimmy Carter in 1978. This ought to be terrible news. So why are so many people cheering?
The big news in astronomy this week-- a profession that should be accustomed to, well, astronomical news– is that the most massive stellar explosion ever seen is going on right now. Okay, not actually “now” as in “right now”, but more like 240 million years ago–but we are just now getting to see it because it’s that far away. But still, University of California astronomers at Berkeley are absolutely thrilled to have discovered the explosion of a sun calculated to be 150 times bigger than our own. So what’s all this glee about the death of a big star? Shouldn’t we be, you know, sad?
It was recently announced that archeologists may have found King Herod’s tomb. 2,000 years ago or so, Herod was a big deal. He was rich and powerful. He built temples and saved the Olympic games. And he was a famous baby killer who wanted to get rid of Jesus whom it was foretold would dethrone him as king of the Jews.
Archeologists believe, some time before 70 A.D., rebels destroyed Herod’s great temple complex and smashed his tomb. It seems a little extreme. I mean, the guy was already dead. And it’s not as if nobody ever liked him. The Roman emperors thought he was terrific. And we are, 2,000 years later, still dancing around Herod’s grave.
These days, we still keep trying to create heroes. We have football heroes and movie stars, rock stars, politicians and religious leaders. Then, sometimes, we discover that they are not perfect and we punish them for it – even if they’re a star. We set ‘em up and we knock ‘em down. We ridicule presidential hopeful John Edwards over his $400 haircut, forcing him to beg us not to hate him for being rich and beautiful. Now, most Americans (and practically everyone else) disapprove of George Bush because he promised to protect us from terrorism when it turns out he didn’t know how. After 9/11, we told him he was a great leader and our only hope and, unfortunately, he believed us.
Zach Johnson, the shy kid from Iowa who won the Master’s golf tournament this year is already a local hero. And maybe he’ll stay a hero–if we don’t get to know him too well.
The big news in astronomy this week-- a profession that should be accustomed to, well, astronomical news– is that the most massive stellar explosion ever seen is going on right now. Okay, not actually “now” as in “right now”, but more like 240 million years ago–but we are just now getting to see it because it’s that far away. But still, University of California astronomers at Berkeley are absolutely thrilled to have discovered the explosion of a sun calculated to be 150 times bigger than our own. So what’s all this glee about the death of a big star? Shouldn’t we be, you know, sad?
It was recently announced that archeologists may have found King Herod’s tomb. 2,000 years ago or so, Herod was a big deal. He was rich and powerful. He built temples and saved the Olympic games. And he was a famous baby killer who wanted to get rid of Jesus whom it was foretold would dethrone him as king of the Jews.
Archeologists believe, some time before 70 A.D., rebels destroyed Herod’s great temple complex and smashed his tomb. It seems a little extreme. I mean, the guy was already dead. And it’s not as if nobody ever liked him. The Roman emperors thought he was terrific. And we are, 2,000 years later, still dancing around Herod’s grave.
These days, we still keep trying to create heroes. We have football heroes and movie stars, rock stars, politicians and religious leaders. Then, sometimes, we discover that they are not perfect and we punish them for it – even if they’re a star. We set ‘em up and we knock ‘em down. We ridicule presidential hopeful John Edwards over his $400 haircut, forcing him to beg us not to hate him for being rich and beautiful. Now, most Americans (and practically everyone else) disapprove of George Bush because he promised to protect us from terrorism when it turns out he didn’t know how. After 9/11, we told him he was a great leader and our only hope and, unfortunately, he believed us.
Zach Johnson, the shy kid from Iowa who won the Master’s golf tournament this year is already a local hero. And maybe he’ll stay a hero–if we don’t get to know him too well.
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