Too many of the major news outlets and almost all talk radio is, at best, missing a valuable opportunity and, at worst, just
adding fuel to an already raging fire
Little thing called “preaching to the choir”.
Nobody is always right or always wrong about
everything all the time. Not the left. And not the right. And not the
moderates, Libertarians, Rotarians, Vegetarians, or magna cum laude graduates
of Hogwarts…… And without the informed, reasonable, articulate dissenting
opinion, this country would have driven off the cliff and exploded into a
billion fiery pieces decades and decades ago.
The only reason that hasn’t happened yet is we go through this yank to the left yank to
the right yank to the left yank to the right Benny Hill Driving School comedy
routine on an every four or eight-year basis and because we back and forth we can’t
quite MAKE it to the edge…but …guess what?
We don’t get
anywhere, either…we just yank and bicker and bitch and argue and either
weave around like idiots or we travel in circles.
First, there’s “confirmation bias”…the phenomenon
that dictates our refusal to even hear, let alone consider, ANY opinion, point
of view l let alone fact, that doesn’t merely back up whatever we believe or
want to believe in the first place…..then, there’s arrogance…the attitude that,
we’re America, fuck you…..what do you mean we need to improve….fuck you….what
do you mean we aren’t perfect, fuck you…we’re America….….then, of course, pride…the
garden variety that goes before the fall…..add selfishness, the character kink
that says we want what we want as much as we want of whatever we want any and
every damn time we want it because, fuck you, we’re America….and you know what?
Those destructive and defeating parts of our humanness have been around since
the Garden…….the only reason they’re suddenly more obvious than usual these
days is the “flamboyance” of someone like Donald Trump who, set aside any and
all policy disagreements we might have with him, has made rudeness and
crudeness and arrogance and selfishness not only acceptable, but pretty much
fashionable….Make America Great Again…..scratch just a little under that mantra
and you’ll read the real message….fuck you, we’re America……
Earlier this week, I guest hosted on talk radio….
on the morning after the State of the Union speech, I opened both the phone
lines and the can of worms that comes with any “so what are your thoughts” when
it comes to any and all things Trump these days. I personally sat out of the back and forth,
offering no personal opinion, merely moderating or, more accurately, acting as
the goalie…when the puck flew too close to the fire, I kicked it back into play…did
it on purpose…so that I could concentrate on hearing and reading the texts that
were also a part of the conversation….and with allowances for a few comments about
“well, I liked the speech” or “he sounded good, hope he lives up to the
promises”, most of what was said and what was heard on this very air was
bashing the Democrats for not applauding, for wearing black, for having red
hair and drooling and on and on and on…….
And don’t think for a second that the Republicans
are always the bad guys….if Hillary had taken the oath in Jan and the GOP had
given Hillary the symbolic finger last night, the phones would have been
burning with Democrats up in arms about why their girl wasn’t being praised and
adored and respected….and…and….it’s ENOUGH ALREADY…..a pox on both your
houses….but better yet, how about a pox on neither house?
Even better yet, how about no damn poxes at all?
How about you try to, at the very least, stop throwing out the good with the
bath water and find something the party you oppose has to offer that isn’t
demonic or Satanic and destined to take us all into the fiery depths of
extinction….no matter which party you belong to and which party that party you
oppose.
Because NOBODY is ALL WRONG OR ALL RIGHT ALL THE
TIME……Now, if you can’t do that because you truly believe the other guys have nothing to offer but the fiery depths of
extinction, then we can all just stop worrying….because if that’s true, we got
bigger problems than we can every hope to overcome, so we may as well just kick
back, enjoy the Super Bowl this weekend and hug our kids while we wait for the
end to come.
And THAT’S what you should be hearing from most of
the major news outlets and almost ALL of talk radio……. but you’re not…and you won’t….
because that’s not what preaching to the choir sounds like….
Real, honest, god given true leadership is really
hard…because sometimes it means going against the grain…against the
flow…against the current…it means knowing exactly what it is you want to hear
and knowing that if I tell you that, you’re gonna love me and praise me and
vote for me no matter what kind of a scum ball human being I might be…..but
instead of telling you what you want to hear, inciting you and lowering the bar
of behavior, I try instead to inspire you…..tricky business knowing the
difference between being inspired and being incited……not a lot of people know
how to tell…and NONE of us can really tell ALL the time whether it’s one or the
other……
But when a news show host or a talk radio host
tells you, yeah, those Democrats are a bunch of losers because they didn’t show
Donald Trump the respect he deserves, that’s not trying to get you to see
things from both sides and make an honest evaluation….that’s trying to stir the
pot that’s already boilin’…so that you’ll feel like talk radio has your back,
baby…..and it makes for good ratings….at least it makes for people who already
feel that way to tune in…..but it’s not really doing much good or making things
any better or even beginning to be a part of looking for solutions…..it’s just
preaching to the choir…..and I’m pretty sure that not a lot is accomplished by
getting people who are already in the pews all worked up about being in the pews…..when
there’s so many people wandering around outside who might think at least a
little about coming in and having a seat….if only someone would take the time
and make the effort to inspire them…instead of inciting them.
But that’s what gets you elected to the Presidency
now…. inciting the voters as opposed to inspiring them….and stirring hearts and
minds has been harshly replaced with stirring up the shit pot of anger and
resentment and hatred and bigotry….
TV news talk….and talk radio? Well they’re mostly
just worm can opening and shit pot stirring and feeding the fire that already
burns too hot…. flames so high that sometimes you think they might reach all
the way to heaven….but then, you already know that don’t you….and my telling
you all of this…is just preaching to the choir….
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