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I realized this weekend that I am part of the problem
Actually, I think the stage got set during the debate. But this weekend, I was watching the talking heads as I do every Sunday, talking about who is or isn't "bitter," who is or isn't "patriotic," whether Michelle Obama is more like Abigail Adams or Mrs. John Kerry...
I was at the gym on the treadmill, so you can see all of it at once on separate TV's. But there are other things on too. Rock of Love, MadTV, Yankee replay, church!, the movie Major League.
And I realized, out of nowhere really, that I didn't want to watch these people talk about this stuff. More than that, I couldn't. That it would be wrong. It suddenly occurred to me that my watching these old farts talk about our country and this important election as if it were a race they had no dog in, it occurred to me that this is exactly what Obama's been imploring me not to do. It's precisely what this whole "change" is about. It's about the way I think, and how I behave. It's about me.
Because these pundits, these programs, they're so stuck in the old-think, the Right v. Left, Tax Cuts v. Big Government bullsh#t that we all know isn't even true or real or valuable, but they're so invested in the state of politics as they see it, that they cannot imagine the world would be different. To them, I am a demographic, and to them, the nation is a bunch of funny little anecdotes you share at a dinner party.
If McCain wins, and this country stays in this war, and thousands more troops die, will one single person ever come on the air and pull their hair out and yell and say what the hell is going on in this world? No, of course not. And worse than that, they will coolly evaluate the nature of the president, of his followers and his detractors, and come to the conclusion that he's either playing with fire, or that he's working a nifty little political game. How clever he is. How clever we are. How well we articulate these insights.
And what a misguided fool I feel like for allowing them so much space within me. For giving them ratings, and for giving such weight to their bought and sold opinions.
I see now that if this is what politics is (and it may be), or if this is what our country is going to allow itself to be ruled by ("Gore's square, Bush is cool"; "Kerry's uptight, Bush is cool"), then there are better things I could be doing in the meantime, like watch the movie Major League.
Or more importantly, if I were to continue giving to the candidates and causes I believe in, continue trying to influence the opinion of friends, students and family, and one day, teach my children that the whole world might be falling apart, but that that doesn't mean you should too, then I am certain that I will have improved the planet. And that's more good than (pundit's name here) will ever do.
And so in that instant, I resolved to change. From now on, when I catch myself arguing with the television, or wondering why Rove is being treated like someone who's opinion matters, or why everyone is having so much damn fun in that studio while Rome is burning, I'm going to simply turn it off, and do anything else.
And while I am going to "hope" that we can "change" the direction of this country, if we cannot, then I have decided that I am no longer going to revel in its demise.
Comments (47)
jweb, I agree with you completely.
I was switching through the talk shows too and I was struck by how out of touch they are. There was no mention in the huge - and I mean HUGE crowds that Obama is drawing, and the comparatively smaller crowds that Hillary is speaking to. Hmmm...could it be that what Obama is saying is actually having an impact? Even in Republican, Jesus-could-run-as-a-Democrat-and-still-lose country like this, he drew 35,000 in Philly, 10,000 in Lancaster, about another 5-6k in Harrisburg.
The same thing with the polls. They all show either little or no movement. What the hey??
April 21, 2008 9:09 AM | Reply | Permalink
I honestly believe that, while they know about the crowds, they don't care. They don't think it matters. They think the crowds are just people who like Obama, like any old political rally.
They don't realize the crowds are people who are sick of the way things are going, and begging for the opportunity to do something about it. They can't even see that though. All they see is a demographic breakdown of the crowd, racially and politically, and what it fortunes for the upcoming election.
They can't even hear what we're saying.
April 21, 2008 9:25 AM | Reply | Permalink
Now see, I always think it's important to listen to everything, even if you disagree with it, if only so you can dispute it. If you can't dispute it, then it's important to toss the argument around, check for fallacies, and do research to figure out if the point is valid. Then, add it to your banks. That's why I still try to watch that stuff.
April 21, 2008 9:19 AM | Reply | Permalink
I completely understand your point.
I just no longer agree. I can't see the good it's done me, being "prepared," though God how I have armed myself. But I can see the harm.
April 21, 2008 9:27 AM | Reply | Permalink
I just can't stand to watch it anymore. I'm not getting anything out of it -- they just keep harping on nonissues and silly crap. I get what I need to know from reading. Though I confess I do try daily to watch, but after a short time, I get disgusted and turn it off. And I'm really sad that many, if not the majority, of voters still get their "info" from these talking twerps. I guess I keep hoping things will change, but they're only getting worse. This PA primary couldn't come another day too soon. The silly season was far too long, and look at the damage that was done, mostly by these so-called "journalists." As long as we have corporate-controlled media, nothing will change.
April 21, 2008 10:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
The night of the "ambush" (incorrectly billed as a debate), I wrote abc telling them I am no longer watching their station.
It's been very easy to simply watch the German news, followed by the bbc on public tv instead of the "entertainment and propaganda" machine - billed as news on the regular channels.
If enough people boycott them, the will ultimately have to change.
It starts with us!
April 21, 2008 5:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
Totally agree with this.
I used to dig into the audio library at the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, especially the Cicero's Podium series, to try to root out the weaknesses in my personal ideology.
I still listen occasionally, but my ears are often otherwise occupied with music I'm trying to learn lately.
April 21, 2008 1:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
Normally I agree with you, clevomon. However, there is little or no deviation in their thoughts, and I see little or no grasp of reality of what is happening here on the ground in PA.
April 21, 2008 9:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
Are you talking purely on TV? Because I guess I understand that. Fareed Zakaria is Fareed Zakaria, and he's almost always brilliant, on TV or in print, but I wonder if TV just does something to most of these people's journalism. I dunno. I think one day, I might want to become a political analyst (tossing it around as a career), and if so, I want to have good arguments that can stand against anything, so to do that, I always felt that you need to be able to hear anything. Including Kristol, although I really wish he'd have a blog people can debate him on, like his last name (but not ideology) cousin, Kristof does (I love his pieces).
April 21, 2008 11:26 AM | Reply | Permalink
Reading back over this, I have a caveat. It would probably help if I checked my posts for rambling before I hit the post button. ^^
April 21, 2008 11:29 AM | Reply | Permalink
We're weaning ourselves off TV. When we had Dish TV we could watch Link or FSTV, but our apartment doesn't allow dishes and Comcast doesn't carry those channels. The quality of mainstream television, particularly news, has become so bad that we chose to pay for broadband internet rather than cable TV. We get more info, we're not tied to TV's schedule and we won't have to buy a big new digital TV set.
April 21, 2008 9:30 AM | Reply | Permalink
It has long been my habit to watch the Sunday political shows as part of having a lazy day. (I wish I could claim I watch while on a treadmill, but I'm talking truly lazy here - I watch, in my pjs, while also reading the Sunday paper and drinking endless cups of coffee). I tell myself it's because I need to know what the "conventional wisdom" is out there, what the opposition is saying, and how the political news of the week is being perceived.
But it's all useless. Nothing but blathering, back and forth, he said she said, aren't we wonderful? I started weaning myself of the habit yesterday, turned off Weasleopolis and put on some music. Did I miss anything?
April 21, 2008 9:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
Since I too stopped watching, I don't know. But now that I think about it, what in the world could we have missed?
We probably know the script by heart and whoever comes on as a guest is going to say exactly what we expect them too unless they misspeak, at which point, we will pretend that we have completely lost the ability to read between the lines and differentiate between intention and revelation and act like their words have betrayed some great inner truth that will redefine the universe.
Or something like that.
I have no doubt, none, zero, that your listening to music yesterday morning contributed to the bettering of our existence on this planet in ways watching the heads wouldn't have.
April 21, 2008 10:00 AM | Reply | Permalink
Please, KZ, it's very hard work reading all those papers and making that coffee. Serious brain work sifting through and deciding what to believe, and so on. Coffee and newspapers simultaneously, serious multitasking. Now add a bagel, and you are practically juggling.
(Or conversely, one could take the approach that Sunday is intended as a day of rest, so no one is supposed to be working, anyway. Whatever the case, clearly the behavior you describe is not lazy...)
April 21, 2008 12:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
I love how the tv punditocracy decided to rally around ABC despite the widespread outrage being directed toward George and Charlie. It's like they thought they could somehow turn the tide by starting with "it wasn't that bad," and moving to "I thought all those questions were fair game. The people want to know." The People already spoke. The people were calling and emailing and commenting about the crap before the debate was even over. But good luck telling us what we should think, what we should be offended by, and how we should react to what we see... Charles Gibson isn't the only one the crowd can turn on.
April 21, 2008 10:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
"Punditocracy," I love it.
Their defense of the debate was precisely one of the thigns that set me off. It was unbelievable how disconnected they were, how they were so quick to write off the outrage as overblown and, basically, naive.
They really don't get it. They cannot imagine a world without themselves as the narrators.
April 21, 2008 10:36 AM | Reply | Permalink
It's like deciding, well, I'm going to decide policy based upon a focus group.
April 21, 2008 10:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
I wish, however, that the news outlets recognized or cared how many people they--not politics itself--have alienated from the process. I, like most of the people on this site, care passionately about what happens to this country, but that has so little to do with most of the substance or the commentary on the "news" channels. And frankly I don't see what will change.
April 21, 2008 10:33 AM | Reply | Permalink
the media is desperate to keep this primary going. hense, the talk that hillary has double digits leads, when she does not, and no mention of the large crowds. they are doing everything in their control to make this look like hillary still has a snowballs chance in hell, while misleading the public.
it's sad, but nothing other than an all out public backlash - akin to the one against abc - against ALL of them will change their manipulation of the truth.
were it not for the media manipulation, america would have already turned their back on the clear loser, and obama would be debating and spending OUR money on the REAL challenger - mc cain.
April 21, 2008 10:49 AM | Reply | Permalink
Hey, so long as they say she's going to have a double-digit lead, the better for us it is if it's tiny, right?
April 21, 2008 11:28 AM | Reply | Permalink
This is all really strange. I also have stopped watching any of the 'talking heads' news programs, except for the occasional Countdown. For me, it began when "Bittergate" broke. I saw the Lou Dobbs show, with Kitty what's-her-name subbing for Lou, spend the entire hour viciously attacking Obama's comments as "slamming small town America" before CNN even had most of the facts. The entire hour! All of it hastily assembled to make the most sensational impact possible. All CNN had at that time was the "cling to guns, religion" excerpt. Nothing on the context of politicians deceiving voters for the past 25 years. The other cable networks were no better of that ensuing weekend. The ABC debate was the final straw. I don't normally believe in conspiracy theories, but man, did it all feel like the word came down from on-high to take Obama out now!
The immediate social networking made possible by the Internet lead one to imagine a future where pundits may become obsolete.
April 21, 2008 11:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
I no longer listen to tv news or tv pundits. I get news from public radio, print, and web sources, and the sanity's nice.
TV news is in trouble anyway...declining/aging audience share overall, and with the Writer's Guild of America strike putting a substantial dent in Q1 and Q2 profit margins (and doing a fair job of tanking the May upfronts), corporate broadcasters are desperate to keep their ad buys high.
They don't care if it's on the backs of bloviating pundits and so-called journalists or not. Anything for ratings. To hell with informing people, or contributing to the democratic process.
That means horse-race journalism and "2 lbs of news for a 20 lb sack."
Not worth my time.
April 21, 2008 12:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
I have very low tolerance for TV news and, in fact, have happily gone long stretches at a time with no television reception.
A few years ago, I decided that the only TV news show worth watching was The Daily Show. It was honest that it was news as entertainment, and that honesty actually frees it up to do a better job of getting out information once in a while. And, worst case, at least it's funny. I've since, naturally, added Stephen Colbert's show to my personal lineup.
As for the rest, I'll dip into CNN sometimes, and I'll watch Countdown occasionally (I have a crush on Keith Olbermann), but overall, I'd much rather get my information from sites like TPM.
April 21, 2008 1:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
I quit watching the news shows three weeks ago, and it is such a relief! The only way to stop the control the media has over our elections is to use our power as viewers. Denounce and Reject! If their numbers drop enough then they will start getting the message. There are other sources for news now, and I refuse to let the televised news ruin my day and my mind with their tabloid reporting and endless discussions of non-issues. I don't read tabloid magazines, and I no longer will be a participant in the tabloid media. I choose to read a book instead or go exercise or work in my flower garden. I wish alot more people would just turn the news shows off and send them a clear message--NOT THIS TIME!!!
April 21, 2008 1:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
Jweb, you said:
"Their defense of the debate was precisely one of the thigns that set me off. It was unbelievable how disconnected they were, how they were so quick to write off the outrage as overblown and, basically, naive."
You know, I had precisely this same reaction when I listened to George "Tiny Debate Failure" (nod to Linkins) write off the criticism as "comes with the territory." I thought "what smug arrogance, he writes off his critics and listens only to his echo chamber. . . why, who does that remind me of? GASP!!! George W. has taken over George S's body! George S is now a receptacle!"
I have to say, Tivo is a great invention and I find myself fast-forwarding through a great deal more dross these days. (I DO work out on the elliptical during Meet The Press but perhaps if I made a rule for myself that I had to work out ANY TIME I have one of those shows on, I'll either be very fit or I'll be a lot more judicious in which shows I pick.)
April 21, 2008 2:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
I don't have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad. It's a depression. Everybody's out of work or scared of losing their job. The dollar buys a nickel's worth; banks are going bust; shopkeepers keep a gun under the counter; punks are running wild in the street, and there's nobody anywhere who seems to know what to do, and there's no end to it.
We know the air is unfit to breathe and our food is unfit to eat. And we sit watching our TVs while some local newscaster tells us that today we had fifteen homicides and sixty-three violent crimes, as if that's the way it's supposed to be!
We all know things are bad -- worse than bad -- they're crazy.
It's like everything everywhere is going crazy, so we don't go out any more. We sit in the house, and slowly the world we're living in is getting smaller, and all we say is, "Please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms. Let me have my toaster and my TV and my steel-belted radials, and I won't say anything. Just leave us alone."
Well, I'm not going to leave you alone.
I want you to get mad!
I don't want you to protest. I don't want you to riot. I don't want you to write to your Congressman, because I wouldn't know what to tell you to write. I don't know what to do about the depression and the inflation and the Russians and the crime in the street.
All I know is that first, you've got to get mad.
You've gotta say, "I'm a human being, goddammit! My life has value!"
So, I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window, open it, and stick your head out and yell,
"I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!!"
April 21, 2008 2:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
Just saw a revival showing of this in a theater about two months ago, and it felt incredibly prescient.
The line has been rattling around in my head all the time of late.
Maybe, judging by the response to my post, we (finally) really are...
Mad as hell, and not gonna take this anymore!!
April 21, 2008 2:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
What do you know, kid? You were born yesterday.
April 21, 2008 8:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
When you're slapped you'll take it and like it.
April 21, 2008 8:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
Maltese Falcon?
April 21, 2008 8:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
At my stores, each counter is equipped with a cash register, a computer, a credit card terminal, a pen, and a fat-assed riot shotgun.
Not directly related to the shotguns (at least not yet), last month a dozen or so drug-dealing, knife-fighting, innocent person assaulting, drive-by shooting gang members decided that the quiet, middle-class neighborhood one of my stores is located in would be a good place to set up business. The police have been pitiful little help. They're scared. Seriously.
But I'm not. I'm too determined to be scared and the fight goes well. I'm nicely along in the process of running those bastards out of there. (And don't worry, I'm not doing anything illegal; effective, sometimes a little fun, but never illegal.)
Their belief that they're above the law, their disregard for others, their violence... Sadly, I feel a direct analogy can be drawn between the thugs I'm dealing with here and the thugs currently holding the reigns of our federal government. And the responsibility I feel for my immediate neighbors is no different than the one I feel for my country. We have a situation and it must be dealt with.
There's some "mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!!" for you. :)
I think it also demonstrates that support for Barack Obama and an appreciation of high-powered firearms can be entirely compatible. :)
April 21, 2008 11:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
do ya think george acts embarrassed at parties?
April 21, 2008 4:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Turn off came with the relentless "bitter" episode for me. They had it so wrong,when I was screaming at the TV, it occured to me I did not have to listen.
Since then nerves have calmed down, have enjoyed reading again, sleeping much better, eating less junk food & in general have finally realized you don't have to be glued to this bloviating nonsense.
I highly recommend turning off blather & welcoming peace. All you need is TPM, just skip over the negative stuff, it's easy.
April 21, 2008 4:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks guys for reminding me why I don't watch TV.
April 21, 2008 5:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
You and me both.
I watch HBO when it has something good on and I watch Jon Stewart.
That's it.
April 21, 2008 5:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
Nonononono - that isn't all - I watch Battlestar Galactica, too.
April 21, 2008 5:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well, I don't even have a TV. But I did watch Battlestar Galactica on DVD :)
April 21, 2008 6:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
:)
April 21, 2008 7:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
I never watch the Sunday shows (actually, I'm usually in church, which is a hell of a lot better for my mental and spiritual health than putting myself through anything like that clip I saw of Stephanopolous and McCain this week).
There was an interesting article on McCain in last week's New York Magazine that said McCain would always prefer being on a Sunday show to going to church, then added the comment, actually the Sunday talk shows are his church. I think it is probably good to check in the WSJ's editorials and columnists once in a while to see what the influential elite right is up to.
April 21, 2008 7:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
great blog, zydecogirl
April 21, 2008 7:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
i accidentally sent it before I specified that I was talking about your blogspot site. It's a good idea, and one you take up well.
April 21, 2008 7:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
No television in my house since 1979, at which time I took a sabbatical to spent 18 months in an isolated locale beyond tv or radio reception or phone lines. Blessed silence making room to learn to live in direct awareness of the world.
By the end of that 18 months, I was happily cured of a lot of mind and body rotting practices, watching television being probably the worst disease producing practice.
From watching some news and pundit clips on this computer, it seems to me that those shows have gone the route of the old soap opera plots, never ending grabs for attention to keep the viewer hooked in to the next installment and twisted titillation.
April 21, 2008 9:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Don't Fuzz Out on the Gotcha Politics
Keep trying to dissect why people respond to it with agreement or doubt and worry. Keep figuring out how to help people see through it.
April 21, 2008 9:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
Amen!!!
A few weeks ago I restricted my TV-news-format diet to NewsHour and the BBC. With everything else, I was starting to feel physically ill.
We're watching the 'last throes' of the old school and they're gasping, struggling for air w/ the same old rancid, recycled vapors.
Done, done and done. And abandoning this sinking liner includes leaving those who 'enabled' it's demise.
Right on. Thanks for articulating the feelings of so many.
April 21, 2008 11:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
I try to catch the NewsHour and BBC as often as possible, and C-Span is the soundtrack of my life when I'm indoors. But I also try to take in what the broadcast and cable networks are doing. Yes, they're frustrating, but they shape perception (too much) and it's no truer anywhere else than in politics that perception is reality.
I'll also listen to Rush Limbaugh, usually on the Armed Forces Network (Eagle 810) when I'm in Japan, so I get the Limbaugh line, as well as an idea of what some the our troops are hearing.
And as painful as it is, I don't block the Christian channels on cable and I'll watch the 700 Club when it's convenient. I feel it's important to check in from time to time to see what those folks are up to.
April 22, 2008 1:18 AM | Reply | Permalink
I almost always get my news from the internet, but one day I was sick, too sick to even get on the internet but not too sick for the tv. I saw them talking about the most recent debate and my heart started pounding really hard. I don't think that helped anybody anywhere. I'm sticking to the internet, except for Daily Show/Colbert Report.
April 22, 2008 2:07 AM | Reply | Permalink
I assure you, the old farts were saying the same things when they were young. Yet don't despair.
Things do change. But oh so slowly.
April 22, 2008 2:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
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