The Angry Rebel: We All Need An Andy Rooney

By Zachary Swartz

Yesterday an event occurred that inspired this article. For those who were unaware yesterday long time 60 Minutes correspondent Andy Rooney died. Rooney was one of my favorite television personalities, especially when I was a child. He was the only part of the show I would watch; now I will admit that part of the reasoning to that was because it was right before the Simpsons, but it wasn’t the whole reason. 

I honestly enjoyed that he could make anything and everything sound horrendous and would claim everything was easier when he was younger. Rooney basically was a crazy old man guilty of preaching back in the day-isms. He was one of the first people I ever saw who complained about mundane activities or events; something I later found out was common practice in stand up comedy. 

I am not writing this as a commemoration for Andy Rooney, or as an essay of how he affected me, quite insignificantly, but it is about how I believe every group of people needs an Andy Rooney. We need those people who have media voices to complain about the “challenges” or annoyances of every day life. If for no other reason to help us all realize that the small things that have the capacity to ruin our day have the same affect on other people. Someone the general public can relate with part of the time and think is a cynic the rest of the time. 

Too often I hear the need for us in the media to take the positive route, whether it is to help a new program or project to get off the ground. I understand the need for positivity in the community, but a brash voice that names names and mentions flaws is equally needed. 

We mention all the time that people are so negative and mean, and to an extent this is true, but there is a fine line between being critical and being negative. This is the line I believe people like Andy Rooney could walk well, a feat easier said than done. It is the line I some day hope to grace with my presence, but today is not that day. 

Instead today is the day I challenge Las Vegas as a whole to be more critical, not more negative. If there is a problem, don’t just complain about it try to figure it out. Personally I love outlandish solutions that are not easily done. They may never get accomplished, but the ideas behind them might. This little challenge is a temporary placeholder until such a voice in Las Vegas can rise. Until then Las Vegas will remain random groupings of people arguing with other random groupings of people who just happen to be fighting for the same thing. A single Andy Rooney type voice is needed here in the city of sin.