Leaning Tower of Media

Have you ever wondered why the news seems to be filled with ever louder voices spouting ever more vicious verbal barbs and trite phrases. I am filled with sadness when I think how the moderate rational voice has all but disappeared from mainstream media. They have been chased away or ignored by the reporters and editors and personalities in favor of more entertaining fare. That is really the root of the problem; news is a form of entertainment and has been commercialized for some time now. It is the original form of reality TV dressed up as a collective social conscience.

It has been said that when you wake up in the morning, at least one news outlet already agrees with you. Every channel has its own particular slant but I don’t need to name names as their bias is readily apparent. They make no attempt to hide their leanings but instead wear them proudly as a badge. Journalists are taught to develop a story. Start with a premise, gather some supporting facts or quotes, shape the flow of the argument to support the premise and out pops the news.

Let’s say I am a liberal news editor. 3 out of 8 people our reporter talked with are concerned that healthcare reform will raise taxes, another 3 would like to see healthcare become accessible to all and control rampant abuses, 1 says that universal healthcare is a basic human right cause that’s what they do in Europe which is the source of all mystical coolness and 1 says the healthcare is a bad plan because it is from the devil and medicine steals your soul. Who do I give airtime to? What I do is forget the first 6, present the super pro and con opinions but edit out that stuff about Europe. Lead story is now that people believe that healthcare is a basic human right and anyone who says otherwise is a Luddite nut job.

Same people same story but now I’m conservative. I now focus on the first three but edit out that they are ‘concerned’ and replace that with a snap of the last opinion that it is a bad plan. Suddenly the story is that most Americans believe that healthcare reform is a bad plan and should be forgotten.

Both stories have been molded and shaped for the greatest impact and most entertainment value. If there are 20 people at a protest, an oppositionally leaning reporter will find the least educated and eloquent member to give an exclusive interview to. Hey look everyone, these protesters are idiots.

I have had to learn to trust no news fully. One must instead play a game of averages and accept multiple sources and try to glean the tiny kernels of facts from the spin. There is one bright spot in today’s environment. With more voices and media to choose from, the amount of truth hidden away in the stories has increased. From these facts one now gets to apply their own biases and formulate their opinion. This last reminds me of another saying; Opinions are like a particular body part that everyone has and they all stink.

Easter

Amongst those of the Christian persuasion, Easter always seems to bring out the most self-inspection. The elephant following us around seems to be the question of am I worthy of Christ's sacrifice. A lot of people will beat themselves up over this (sometimes literally as in look up Filipino flagellants) and I think this misses the point.
I am no prophet but something I believe is that God's lessons are where you look for them. Metaphor of true principles can be found in watching a seed grow, the sun rise, and a wound heal. Meaning can be found even in cleaning up after a sick child has thrown up in bed in the middle of the night. I think that instead of trying to engineer my own experience on a given holiday to match some imaginary ideal of what that experience should be like, A better approach is to spend more time interpreting the lessons already before me. The great part of this is that I don't have to wait for a day or time, the moment I seek is ready for me when I am ready to receive it.
So, in confession, I did not spend a lot of time planning and executing the perfect Easter experience with morning services, meditative thought and doctrinal exploration. I visited with family because we love each other, we hunted for eggs and ate candy because it is fun, played at the beach because we are here and the weather is wonderful and tonight, as we prayed together as a family, my son added a special thanks to God for having such a great day and asked that we can have another great day tomorrow. There was no prompting on my part and it matters little if he thought the best part of the day was the family, candy or beach; he took time to thank God for it and that is a lesson he found on his own.