Is the media’s exploitation of poisonous politics, economical malaise, joblessness, crime, Middle East invasions, global warming, and botulistic epidemics a carefully scripted alarmist docudrama? Well, either TV news is a video game gone amuck, or we have turned the media controls over to the fools among us. Angry, vengeful, out-of-control fools. We have given them permission to wreak havoc on the American mind. And we fall for it. We shiver in our boots at the prospect that any one of these disasters could destroy us.
This has got to be just a TV videogame, egged on by those self-aggrandizing radio bombasts sitting safely in their studios. Without questioning their motives, we sit there and let them convince us that the sky indeed is falling and we had better tune in at 11:00pm for the life-saving details. They have us addicted to their calamities.
The source of their venom is the politicians, preachers, and prognosticators that will fabricate anything to decimate their political, social, or media rivals. They have raised the level of abuse to unprecedented intensity, bordering on the libelous. All manner of propriety is abandoned. The proliferation of media outlets, blogs, Twitter, et al., only serve to escalate the competition.
As I watch these day-long tragedians presenting their litanies of disasters, posing as trustworthy news commentators, it dawns on me that this must be a Media Gotcha Game. Then it all makes sense! Certainly no rational, conscionable politician, TV commentator, or witless radio wizard would possibly use their craft to wantonly disassemble the psyche of the nation.
Most media claim the Dem’s are failing disastrously, imperiling our existence as a free nation - even. This opens the door for the ousted, still-stinging GOP to leap into the fray and bring forth their most ‘honorable’ men to seize the day. The door is wide open. To our horror, they choose instead to let the voices of those aforementioned rabid fools still speak for them. Incessantly – without intervention. I find this far more disturbing than all the existing swamp gas swirling around us.
Who will step in to save all of us from ourselves? To use one of their abused phrases, “Wake up, America.” This is not a video game. These are real news organizations gambling with our souls simply to out-disaster and out-publish each other.
My personal solution to this media mêlée is to switch to ESPN and NFL football. There is carnage I can witness - live - then decide for myself if it was a clean hit or an illegal strangle-hold – like the TV and radio news. Then again, the NFL has sold its soul as well. They have given the game over to 375 pound low-budget behemoths who are trained to destroy very expensive 250 pound QBs, RBs, and WRs, thus decimating the game. Another scripted gotcha game? Don’t get me started on that issue…
Stay tuned. Pat Dugas
Pat - You've said it!! What a mess we are in. Good you keep your sense of humor and fun - that may be all we have left. your writing bud, dotti
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