So the writers are back from their second strike in 20 years, and everything will be back to normal. Status quo, restored, equilibrium balanced yet again. I observed the first “Late Show with Conan O’Brien” with the writers back a couple of nights ago, and he did a segment in tribute to all the highlights they had on the show during writer-less episodes. I have to say, there were some funny and memorable moments (like when the New York Giants turtle one the race, predicting the following Sunday’s outcome, or when Conan saved Abraham Lincoln by flying down a zip-line and kicking a lurking John Wilkes Booth across the stage), I became nostalgic. Which prompted me to wonder: could we have had such moments with the writers “working”?

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not at all in favor of people losing their jobs, and definitely think everyone deserves a fair share, but that philosophy also encompasses the notion that if someone’s fair share is squat, let them have it. The recent strike left a window of opportunity for any starving/aspiring writers to showcase their talents being they had the cajones (It’s Spanish, look it up) to cross the picket line. Some comedian made a funny joke that crossing the line wouldn’t be that intimidating when you have guys like Woody Allen trying to stare you down.

Regrettably so, I love television. I watch too much of it. That is why it pains me so to see the decline of quality in the industry. Shows like “The Apprentice” and “Moment of Truth” both baffle me as to how anyone could be entertained by such hullabaloo, and give me a nihilistic-inspired fit of indigestion.

To some, it may seem like I wandered off track a bit, so let me tie it all back together here. Unions can be a good thing. They can also be a bad thing. Have you ever seen the CalTrans workers on the highway, standing around, not doing anything other than scratching themselves? Well that’s because they’re Union-ized, and they don’t have to work.

It seems to me like the same tendencies are overwhelming our writers today. As a writer myself (the aesthetic amateur I am), I enjoy writing and care about what I produce and put my name on. My challenge to the writers is the same; take your job seriously, or get out. Less I might have to strike?you!