A Closer Look Here, There and Everywhere
by Trish PurcellPoliticians, driven by self-interest, continue to prove their incompetence and ethical shortcomings by pompously spouting hypocrisy as a substitute for working for the common good of the people and the country. Just think about the examples of leadership these politicians are giving the children of America.
Media, driven by ambition and profit, continue to prove their cowardice and lack of integrity by parroting out-of-context sound bites instead of seeking truth and providing a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues. Think about the effects our so called free press has on democracy and what this type of media teaches the children of America.
Pundits, driven by greed and a desire for celebrity, continue to prove their superficiality and ineptitude by over simplification and deliberate distortion in place of presenting facts and encouraging honest debate. Think about the lessons in participatory democracy these pundits are giving America’s children.
People, driven by rage and their own insecurities, continue to prove their ignorance by churning out comments that lack logic and common sense rather than taking time to find out the facts. Think about the passing on of ignorance by the people of this generation to the children of the next generation.
Is this what we really want for our children, for our country? Are we so caught up in our own wants, our own opinions, that we forget our actions are teaching the children of America how to be Americans? Are we willing to throw away all the sacrifices our ancestors put into building a noble country and pass on to our children a nation of lesser values?
When did we stop believing in the importance of the common good? When did we turn our future over to the very wealthy and start allowing them to decide who would have and who would have not? How did we allow safeguards for our food, our medicines, our workplaces, and our toys, purchased many times with the blood of our forebears, to be stripped away?
When did we trade our moral compass for a calculator and a bank account? When did our ministers start substituting religiosity for spirituality in leading their congregations? When did we start believing the easy way is the right way? And the big question: when did we stop understanding that what we model is a large part of what forms the characters of our children?
I couldn't agree more that the media has become increasingly mediocre. Your point about them "parroting out-of-context sound bites instead of seeking truth and providing a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues" is well taken. It does get very tiring when they take out of context quotes or paraphrases of quotes, and throw them at the audience and the pundits. They start with an error, and it only gets worse, unless one of the pundits is aware enough to call the host on it.
Then there are the out and out liars. I heard Ann Coulter, perhaps one of the most reprehensible and morally ignorant pundits to come down the pipe in quite some time blame the Democrats for the economic mess created by the Republicans. Why? Because they just took over the Administration a couple of months ago, I assume. This was on Sean Hannity, so of course she wasn't challenged. Where Coulter is devious, Hannity is just clueless.
I do feel for the children. Their reality is constantly being grossly distorted between faux news, inane TV programming and the constant bombardment of commercial advertising that is ludicrous, inane and repetitively-terminally boring, with its only intent to sell more and more garbage for profit. And I always love the ever dwindling "health product" commercial which is than followed by the latest fast food AD spouting their quadruple cheese, bacon, and hamburger extravaganza on the huge processed carbohydrate bun -- extra lard optional. Then there are the countless pharmaceutical ADs selling their drugs by enabling the concept that everyone is justified in feeling bad, and they have just the crap to fix it. Aldous Huxley would be proud. Soma has arrived!