The Eddie Haskell

Media Phenomenon

To the Editor:

For those of us old enough to remember the 1950s sitcom, Leave It To Beaver, the name Eddie Haskell is all too familiar. Eddie was the friend of Wally and “The Beav” — sons of June and Ward Cleaver, a stereotypical white suburban family of that era: the dad goes off to work each day, the mom stays home and tends to the hearth, and the boys deal with such pressing problems as unfinished homework and a pesky sibling butting into his older brother’s life.

Then there was Eddie Haskell, the teenage friend, who popped in frequently and unannounced, with gems like, “Why thank you, Eddie, what a sweet thing to say…would you like some apple pie; I just took it out of the oven.”

With a mouth full of homemade heaven being washed down by a glass of fresh whole milk, Eddie lets loose with, “I just stopped by to make sure Beaver didn’t get in trouble for failing his math test…and no matter what Miss Toomey says, I don’t believe the Beav would cheat…” Flustered at hearing this — clearly for the first time — Mrs Cleaver calls upstairs for her son, “Theodore, come down here this minute!” Meanwhile, Eddie rises from his chair, slinks over to the door, and says, “Well, I’ve gotta get going; I promised my mom I’d wash the windows after I clean my room…thanks for the pie.”

And, just like that, the sweet smell of apples and harmony is replaced by a well-placed “stink bomb”; Eddie is gone, and the unsuspecting Beav is about to walk into his kitchen, still hot, but not from the oven. Instead of a slice of apple pie, he will get a piece of his mother’s mind, thanks to Eddie’s “helpful” visit.

To be called “an Eddie Haskell” is far from a compliment; it is an unflattering reference to someone who insinuates himself into a situation, often charmingly, albeit insincerely, instigates a conflict, then leaves others to deal with the messy fallout. A troublemaker; an insidious germ; a self-serving sneak with an agenda. In short, a real weasel. Like what the media in our once great country has become.

Both TV and print media purport to inform and report responsibly and objectively. Instead they titillate and attempt to entertain, offering half-truths, quotes out of context, and annoying sound bytes. Today, Good Morning America spent as much time reviewing the “ten-year anniversary” of the Monica Lewinsky scandal as they did celebrating the legacy of Dr Martin Luther King, for whom this holiday is named. To what end?

For the first time in our history, we are faced with the possibility of either a woman or a black man becoming our president. I caution all of us to beware of the Eddie Haskells in our media and in our midst.

Michael Luzzi

Boggs Hill Road, Newtown                                        January 23, 2008