"Some Say" Ignorance Is Bliss

Perhaps it's serendipity. The story of John Adams is being televised into millions of American homes each Sunday evening just as we need to be reminded of the struggle, in every sense, required to found, develop and maintain a democracy.

With the obligation of inheriting the beacon of democracy nourished and protected by those who came before us, why are we allowing ourselves to be ill-served by so many in the media? Who knew there were so many lunatics in journalism or hired part time willing to undermine our future for a few minutes of prime time exposure?

Four thousand military men and women have died in Iraq. Countless civilians have perished in the violence. Gasoline and heating oil becomes more expensive by the day. Drought, poverty, illness and human despair are increasingly ignored. U.S. debt is soaring, in marked contrast to other countries in the developed world. Personal privacy is diminishing. Dissemblers remain ensconced in the White House, capable of perpetrating further harm on America and the world before they depart.

Stressed-out, hard-working Americans have less time than ever to sift through the variety of printed and online news sources necessary to decipher what is truly going on in these and other important areas. Instead, they stagger home from work, put their aching feet up, and attend to a nonstop onslaught of, to borrow a phrase, blathering inconsequence.

They hear "newscasters" preface opinions and vilifications that could and should be attributed to specific sources, if uttered at all, with negligent, cowardly qualifying phrases such as "Some people think..." and "Some are saying...." Too cheap and lazy to conduct real research, they regurgitate the same gaggles of "journalists," "strategists" and "political experts" night after night, saving their parent conglomerates huge amounts of money at the expense of our edification.

They pose silly questions about the future -- as if we can really learn by repeating them -- whether Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton will one day run on the same ticket -- whether the Democratic Party is self-destructing -- or whether criticism leveled by one Democrat toward another will enable John McCain to win the election.

Over and over, the major channels dredge up the same paid commentators to tell us the same things and take the same gratuitous swipes at their target candidate or at each other. Indeed, some of them resemble pitbulls in a dogfight.

Television and radio remain uniquely capable of providing countless numbers of people with important, on-the-spot access to each presidential candidate's views, policy statements and actions. Failing that -- which is exactly what most of the major electronic media are doing -- we will end up with a president who assumes office by virtue of still standing when the onslaught of irresponsibility and ignorance has ended.

David McCullough's biography of John Adams reminds us that pathological politics during presidential elections is nothing new. But is exaggerating the low points the way we will identify the leaders we need to end the current madness? The fleeting thrill many experience when their favorite candidate nails another with a sound bite in lieu of intelligent analysis is not worth the potential loss to America and the world.

What can we as individuals do to raise the level of the national debate? Read more. Think more. Get up and turn off the television or radio when our leading "news" people or "commentators" promulgate the same old garbage.

How long will we continue to endure such idiocy -- or worse, to enjoy it? Look at what it gave us the last two times. Unless we get smart, we're destined to repeat that debacle one way or another. Far more than "some people" ought to be insisting that this is one price America cannot afford to pay.

Dr. Reardon blogs at bardscove.com and thethinpinkline.com

Comments

[Scarabus]

Great stuff, Dr. KR! You've clearly (and bravely) articulated the goal. What the troops need now is (a) strategic advice and (b) tactical advice. Give us the follow-up!

—Dr. WD

[knowhelpnow]

Oh how I dream of going back to the days of blissful know nothing. I could sleep well assured that our government was in control and taking care of us. Well those days are over for me. I have read to much and seen to much to ever believe what is said on the National News Networks. All the lies and the downing of the USA has me going crazy that most people don't see what is going on or worse doesn't think it involves them that we will be forever the best of the world. While countries are buying the United States of America piece by piece.
How can we be the best in the world while our country is crumbling beneath our feet, everything the New Deal gave us is being scraped away, why?
The elite live well while the rest of us live on salaries that are not keeping up with inflation while CEO's salaries and comps are more then 400% of the average worker, and if the company falls they still receive their huge comp's even if fired is something wrong with this? I believe so, why isn't the average worker just spitting in anger?

Remember the time when families lived well on one salary now they are scraping by on two salaries.

Wake up people or you will become serfs in this New World Order.

[SCG]

Agreed, Thank God for C-Span and ther internet.

[oncethere]

Has anyone noticed how the morning network shows, "Today," "GMA," have changed over the last 10 years. I vaguely remember them , years ago, as being news-based shows. But, today they are all fluff. They have 3 minutes of real news, a couple minutes of moronic commentary and that's it. The rest of the show is devoted to Food Recipes, Dog stories and Money tips; for Good Measure, they throw in a medical story about the discovery of a new gene that accounts for the texture of one's toenails.

[caral]

I view most TV network news as entertainment and rarely watch it. However, it’s been hard to find unbiased news reporting anywhere during this election cycle. If one prefers news via the Internet, as I do, you still come away most days with little more than sensational “sound bites” and little of substance. All sites now present selected news through their own preferred candidate bias.

This primary season should be an exciting one because of the candidates. We have the oldest candidate, the youngest candidate, who is black, and a woman candidate running for president. Something many thought they’d never see in their lifetime. These candidates’ policy positions should be examined and dissected by the press, so that the voter can make an informed decision. But instead, the voter finds that whomever they may decide to vote for will make them an ageist, a racist or a misogynist. Which is ridiculous and yet seems to be the message given by most of the press coverage.

It would be easy to view being an informed voter as the same as being an informed health care consumer. However, the voter is really dependent upon the press to inform them and how does one, unless he or she is a political junkie, know that biases are tainting the news reporting. Where are the unbiased professional journalists?

[PioneerKing]

McCain will be much better than Bush. :-)
RALPH NADER 2008

[research]

The problem is the MSM is owned and controlled by the war crime profiteering corporations.

There are 5 news outlets that are not war profiteering cheerleaders:

Air America, Olberman, Daily Show, Colbert, and Now.

[NeilJay]

Dear Ms. Reardon,
Beyond eloquent! thank You. Neil J. Robbins

[azphil]

TV is the opiate of the masses.

Contrary to our perception of the world the average citizen when they get home does not move to the news channels. They move to the entertainment channels, DVD, video games, religion or the net. Its escapism they seek. They know how bad things are, there living it. Basically you could improve the quality of the news channels 1000% and the impact on our fellow citizens would be minimal. If you can remember when journalists were trusted, the average citizen was still a mass of prejudice and half formed myths about the world and our right to run it.

Improving the quality of our media would be an excellent thing, but it won't resolve the basic issue of a nation full of people with a lack of curiosity about the world and our place in it. For even sakes millions still believe it was created in 6 days with the sabbath off for R&R!

[AnitaBee]

Amen. People are being asked to choose the new president and the tools that they have are misleading advertising and misleading television news "journalism." It began with the blurring of news and entertainment, worsened with the blurring of news and PR, and now is simply a mess that serves no one.

[AngFL]

Well said Kathleen, I couldn't agree more! Every day the media presents a another frustration, another hair pulling story of he said - she said, another stupid story full of fluff so the anchors can come up w/some ridiculous commentray -- oh goodness I could go on. I just turn the TV off!

[KiwisCanFly]

Yet again, kudos to Kathleen Reardon.

[Rockyman]

If who we elect is truly representative of who we are, we are in deep doodoo! As you say, "unless we get smart we're destined to repeat that debacle one way or another". We have become sedentary, detached from community, overweight, unhealthy and ill-informed. With remote in hand controlling the big-screen we are satisfied and entertained. No engagement, little dialogue with a mouthful of Cheetos. "TV entertain me is" our mantra. And TV did just that. Titillation and gossip ran amuck, conflating the personal failings of celebrities into our water-cooler musings. We are now armed with the minitia of the unimportant while the truly essential is dismissed as "wonkish". We have been 'played' by the corporate world for 'suckers'. America's debts, trade deficits, energy addictions, weakened middle-class demand immediate attention now......or maybe after I watch American Idol!

[hopeless277]

TCC. Total Corporate Control. This is the agenda. Control the media, control the message, control the congress, control the White House, control the population. It simply is too late to stop it. No bought politician(all of them) would dare to offend their corporate masters. Why else would there be a Pizza Hut in Iraq?

[Opus007]

This is an important post. I'm sure that everyone on HuffPro has been thinking the same thing, It is so hard to get good information from the MSM. But people are craving good information and that is why Huffington Post, alterNet, Progress Report, Daily KOS etc are so successfull. So many of the bloggers are so much more interesting than the talking heads on television. People are now taking an interactive role- which is great.

[Lemeritus]

"...people are craving good information and that is why Huffington Post... etc are so successfull"

Oh, Opus, honey, baby, sweetie, comrade-in-arms! Much as we all love HuffPo, it is only accidentally a source of "good information". This spot is mostly a source of opinion and, just because we happen to generally agree with the opinions here, we shouldn't -- like our counterparts on the Right -- mistake it for "good information".

[sockman]

WOW! Spot on.

[cybersense]

I am thinking that you are not entirely correct about that. I have seen on here and other places...it's the same thing, just on the web. Blogs and reports start to blurr, people's statements and commenting on anything they have, factual or not. Bias, or unbias.