I was thinking about Ann Coulter again. While searching for video clips for my SOC/ENG learning community I stumbled across some of her videos. The one that set me off was when she said she wished we could get to the point where we admitted we elected a leader simply because of the color of his skin. I thought, well can we get to the point where we admit that said leader has qualities of value that extend far beyond the color of his skin? It is that line of thinking that drags me back into the political foray yet again. Watching the news, even CNN, I am left to wonder if the 24 hr news orgs are actively trying to make this a real political race if for no other reason than to have airtime. It wouldn’t be the first time a news org elevated the importance of an event simply to sell adspace and attract viewers. Casey Anthony comes to mind.
879. Reflections on a Monday Afternoon
The news, as a core socializing force, is a sensationalist business more interested in drawing viewers than providing news that is necessary and crucial to the advancement of American culture and productivity. In fact, the only type of news that seems to put the value of the news before the value of drawing viewers is the Business News channels. Why? Because the people who tune in are interested in making money and need to know the facts before they get the bias and opinion. Of course, bias and opinion factor heavily into those channels as well–especially in the moments before and after the market closes.
Coulter, media bias, all of it raises my hackles this late in the election season. I feel like people are looking for a way to bring down Obama and restore a system that harkens back to the 80’s when we are 30 years removed from that timeframe. Any excuse will be made to put the blame on the shoulders of our president. Just today Obama was accused of leaving out key information in regards to the attacks on the Libyan Embassy. Now I accept that information was left out, but I do want to suggest that the omissions may have been to a positive end. This was likely in part political, but it was more likely about having the space to catch the people responsible by baiting them into believing they were safely anonymous.
Just a few of the things I’ve been thinking about this Monday afternoon.