Shhh!

A Little Silence, Please.

I have been a student and observer of the political process for most of my adult life. The governmental process has always interested me and often confounded me. I can still recall the first time I realized that people either holding or seeking political office did not always do the right thing for the right reasons. Sometimes they would even do the wrong thing for the wrong reason which usually was political preservation. I have even been a sometime participant in the political process in the form of campaigning and such and it takes a lot out of a person to run for office and for someone to actively campaign for someone for office. I can understand why we see people resigning from office and choosing to not seek office.

But there are also rewards other than the obviously narcissistic ones. Some seek office believing they are uniquely qualified to bring about some desired result. The fact of the matter is they may be qualified but not uniquely so. For a person to assume otherwise is the beginning of hubris and eventual downfall. As with many things, some of our leaders have not had extraordinary talents but have had perseverance and a vision while those of obvious talents have become ineffective. It is largely a matter of chance I think.

We have become a nation of voyeuristic prisoners held captive by a 24 hour news cycle that rushes to stay ahead of the next headline. There must be a new one each day or people will tune somewhere else to get the fix for their addiction. The pressure on the news outlets such as Fox News, CNN, MSNBC and others to continually be drawing attention to their programming is essential if they are to be able to sell time on their networks for the promotion of products. That is the essence of broadcast journalism. Don't get me wrong. There are still some great journalists in broadcast journalism but even they will acknowledge that they are subject to the pressures of the Neilson Ratings. We are seeing on the news networks the trend toward creating their own news. We see journalists, and I use the word broadly, trying to catch someone in an error of speech or just something that they can make a 30 second spot out of or the parading of the same scenes of some horrible happening that we just can't tear our eyes away from. I don't want to allow the responsibility to fall on the journalists alone because the truth is that those things would not be getting the time if we didn't watch them.

The debt ceiling, Casey Anthony, the Norwegian Killings, tornadoes in Missouri and Alabama, floods, oil spills, Katrina and the list is endless. Of course, we want to know the news but do we really need to be inundated with it repetitively until the next lead story comes up?

Our political process is hamstrung by the constant attention and the ability of interest groups to bring an intense focus on someone or something. While we wish our representatives would have the courage of their convictions we insist that theirs be the same as ours or we will have their heads. It is plain to see that some respite from the glare of the lights might actually have a cooling effect on tempers and allow cooler heads to prevail.

We are caught in a crossfire of verbiage hurled at us incessantly. The words are cleverly constructed to enhance an emotional response for the greatest effect. The wordsmiths know well their craft. If they have not had years of experience then they can augment their craft with the knowledge of sociologists and other experts in human behavior. Don't be lulled into thinking that what you are watching repeatedly during the day is unscripted, breaking news. The large portion of it is not and you can tell the difference if you choose to do so.

I have made a great many mistakes in my life. I have been absolutely certain of things only to find I was mistaken. I have always held the opinion that more information is good and less only hinders our decision making process. I am rethinking that proposition. As with many good things it seems that we have drank a little too deeply and foundered on the excess. Jefferson always held that an educated populace was essential to the survival of the republic but there seems to be a difference between education and inundation. Education requires some time of silence to consider the prospect while inundation seeks to instill precepts without the benefit of thought. Simply hearing more does not educate more.

These are dreary times indeed but we are inundated with that message. We may be dreary but the times are not as dreary as the times of my parents and grandparents. Now those were hard times. Now we are rich but perhaps just not as rich as we thought. Times are difficult but we still have the wherewithal to make it better.

I was looking for something to write about other than the same he said-she said and name calling. I would like to say to the news outlets, as if I mattered, to just shut up for a while. You are not as important as you think you are. Play music or something. Let's let the heavy hitters try to work something out without us screaming at them and breathing down their necks. And I would like to say to you, lighten up. In spite of what the talking heads say it is not the end of life as we know it. them. Try to enjoy life and friends even if you don't agree. Try to find something to agree one.

That is my take on the continual barrage of noise, not that I think it will make any difference.