Recently I've had the dubious pleasure of having access to cable once again. I spent several years without the amenity. I have to say that I didn't pine for it during it's absence. Now that it's returned I find myself drawn as a moth is to the flame. I suppose there was something in my generation that swapped the warm glow of the hearth with the blue flicker of the idiot box. It made us feel comfortable. I can't say that my comfort can be sustained much longer by this strain of media. I will openly admit that there are many entertainment programs that I profusely enjoy. That being said, utilizing the television for your primary source of information is a severe error in judgment. The Walter Cronkites and Edward R. Murrows have long left us to be prayed upon by the ringmasters of infotainment. News has become a circus with flying snappy graphics, theatrical music, Ken dolls and most damaging of all, half informed attempts at transmitting facts and informed opinions.
The obvious culprit is Fox News, but the blame should not be placed with them alone. CNN and MSNBC also share in the ridiculous antics that have become what Americans have come to accept as reputable news. We focus on the fact that Fox is too Right wing or that CNN or MSNBC is too far to the left. These are essentially non-issues when confronted with the fact that these stations invest their time and effort into making the news a veritable orgy of exploding logos and bellicose arguing guests. It's no longer a healthy debate, it's a boxing match that doesn't require pay per view. The defense to this new trendy style of news is that Americans have shorter attention spans and perhaps the unwillingness to utilize their centers for reason. They want the short sound bit that's quick crisp and delivered by a sharp suited beau with perfect teeth. The problem with that is issues are almost never simple, that's why they are called issues. Abortion, the Iraq War, the Economy, and a long list of other important issues are complex and deserve to be studied and carefully analyzed. To simplify them into absolutes is not only wrong but an insult to rational human thought.
