The mute button on my television remote is almost worn out,
and it is the most important among the dozens of functions that this small
device performs. Do we realize how far
from any standard of reasonableness we have come in this country? I speak now of the rush to condemn certain
actions.
Bad things happen in this world. Evil is still at work. People do terrible things, but does the
President of the United States really have to comment on all of them? Why can’t the people of this nation be
outraged enough at a desecration of something sacred without the help of the
chief executive. Instead of counting the
minutes between the event and the eventual statement, could we not use our time
and efforts to lend some support to the victims. Perhaps we could have organized protests
against the offenders, even if we have yet to find them. That would at least satisfy our propensity to
protest things that portend whatever doomsday the protesters see on the
horizon.
Perhaps the real news is not how long was it before the
President said something official and talking heads analyzed its sufficiency;
but the real news is what is happening to catch the offenders? Silly
me—who wants to follow that story? Who
is helping with restoration? Sorry, that will not pay the empaneled bank
of consultants. How can the common
person who wants to be something other than outraged, actually do something to
help? C’mon, that’s a link on the website, not news. Who is already doing
something to help that deserves some recognition? That
surely won’t satisfy our appetite for criticism.
The 24-hour news cycle has created
an epidemic of diarrhea of the mouth.
There are no new facts or tangible information going into the system but
there is no slowdown on the outward flow of blarney.
For now, it’s just the mute
button. My next step will be to identify
the sponsors of these broadcasts and boycott their products, and encourage
others to do so. I hope I do not have to
write the eulogy for the press that once understood its privileged standing in
this nation. I am optimistic but not
blind. We as a nation crave blame and
vitriol more than truth. The media is
simply our drug dealer.
How I long for that bygone day
that when there was nothing more of substance to say, you stopped talking. You stopped talking! This small nugget of wisdom has surely been
expunged from the journalism schools of our land.
Oh, how I long for the days of the
test pattern that pronounced with certainty and even a little dignity that
programming was completed for this day.
May God have mercy on our
judgmental and cynical souls. Heal us!
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