Securely, I am wedged into the living-room pilot’s seat. The remote control is glued firmly to the palm of my hand. An agile thumb hovers over the buttons, ready at a moment's notice to enter familiar cable coordinates.

I deftly navigate around torturously obnoxious commercials. I travel from the Discovery Channel to Fox News. Then a short hop with a layover at the Learning Channel en route to NASA-TV. Once in awhile, I become trapped in a holding pattern at the Sci-Fi Channel until a surprise commercial casts me into evasive maneuvers.

My passengers are dizzy by now, and have entered stand-by mode. Their eyes are directed toward the television screen, but in reality, they are in a semi-conscious state. I have effectively hypnotized them with rapid-fire channel surfing.

Suddenly, a commotion on the screen causes my thumb to stutter. In disbelief, I shout an alert to my passengers. They are violently taken out of stand-by mode and become wide-eyed with a surge of adrenaline.

"Look at that…" I declare. "Did you see that?"

The scene before us is utter chaos. This time, it is the Taiwanese Parliament. Another time it may be South Korea, Russia, India, Ukraine, Australia, or France. We see grown men and/or women throwing fists, microphone stands, chairs, and who knows what else at each other. Some are hiding behind tables while others are looking for projectiles.

We laugh in disbelief, and I am smug in a self-righteous cocoon of grand civility. Gee Whiz… I’m certainly glad we don’t act like that in this country. I think this to myself; or perhaps I say it aloud. Continued...