Amusing Ourselves to Death
Though he can sometimes sound like Jeremiah on a bad beard day, one admires the moral passion of The New York Times’ Bob Herbert.
In today’s column (available online only to TimesSelect subscribers), Herbert takes his cue from the late Neil Postman’s book, Amusing Ourselves to Death.
Here are the closing paragraphs:
No one can figure out what to do about Iraq or Al Qaeda. A great American cultural center like New Orleans was all but washed away, and no one knows how to put it back together. The ice caps are melting and Al Gore is traveling the land like the town crier, raising the alarm about global warming.
But none of that has really gotten the public’s attention. As a nation of spectators, we seem content to sit with a pizza and a brew in front of the high-def flat-screen TV, obsessing over Anna Nicole et al., and giving no thought to the possibility that the calamitous events unfolding in the world may someday reach our doorsteps.
Is there flat-screen TV on Charon’s wharf? If so, it will probably be playing re-runs of The Sopranos.
1. I sure hope so, Bob.
2. I think it will be playing American Idol.
The ANS silliness has proven that it is time for CNN to send Larry King to the boneyard. I have rarely watched his show but have made a point each day of seeing how much time he will devote to her. He seems obsessed. As an old man myself I recognize the signs of incipient senility …. he wins.
Go home to go to bed, Larry.
J-M,
Your advice to LK reminded me of some sage counsel of Henri de Lubac:
If one is experiencing spiritual distress, one ought first to go to the chapel to pray. If that does not avail, one should see one’s spiritual director. If even that fails to help, then go to bed.
And shut off the TV.
Bob Herbert, unfortunately, is basically correct about the trivializing of news. I see little evidence that there is any great interest on the part of the American public to be informed about substantial issues that do not lend themselves to slogans. I should hope that there is something more that can be done to change this than the previous posts suggest. Sorry, folks. This is dead serious stuff that Herbert is calling attention to.
I also see little evidence that any of our political leaders and aspirants show any great interest in informing the American public about the substantial issues; instead they’re resorting to slogans. Think of the nearly two years ahead of us. Is there any one of the candidates that could be expected to be willing to sit down to a serious, unscripted discussion? Anyone of them who can be expected not to hide behind slogans? I can’t remember the last time I stayed past the first two or three exchanges in a political debate on TV, that being enough to learn that neither side is taking the issues, or us, the American public, seriously. And does any one listen to appointed spokesmen for the two big parties?
Why does Bob Herbert say “we” when he really means “other people”. Or is he confessing to the foibles he takes the general public to task for?
Very few politicians have the knack, as Bill Clinton certainly had, to inform as well as persuade. John Kerry was very good on issues but W was better on persuading. Gore was similar to Kerry. While McGovern and Patakis were disasters.
Secondly, the only way to survive politics is to have a sense of humor. Shakespeare understood this when he inserted ‘comic relief, even in his tragedies.
And Jesus was crucified. He would have never gotten elected. But he was effective.
There is a lesson here, somewhere.
Next week I’ll be attending a panel discussion about the future of print journalism.
I’m attending only so I can point out that the larger problem is the decline in journalism.
They’re not reporting on anything the American public is willing to pay money to read about.
I think there’s a message there too.
What?! The media has helped me to preach on Catholic matters in matters that people can easily grasp. For example, I started my homily this past Ash Wednesday with, “Brothers and sisters, Lent is for Catholics what rehab is for Britney. We know it is good for us, but we fail miserably in our perseverance through it. However, the Lord is merciful to us.”
No, I did not use this for anything other than a joke.
It is good to shut off the TV, I must say. I hope many more people do so.
The CNN problem is not Larry King – his show is manly fluff.
When Anderson Cooper (who has beaten to death Anna Nicole, and Rosie vs, The Donald before and many other lesser newsworthy events) replaced Aaron Brown as their prime time news head, it fell off my map. CNN touts itself as” the most trusted name in news services.” Blech!!!
That’s almost as bad as saying FOX is “fair and balanced.”
There;s still some good reporting on NPR and you can still some great stuff on CSPAN. The latter featured many gubernatorial state of the state messages this week – good stuff, particularly as the Federal Government continues to flounder in delivering the goods under the great Decider,
The most terrible event in television was when Ted Turner sold CNN. Only God will judge us but Ted has done some great things. He made it a command that none of his employees can use the word foreigner. He thought in terms of world peace before it became popular or necessary. He is the opposite of Murdoch.
It is amazing how brainless television is becoming. There is just too much news and repetition on the same channel is common torture. The good news is one can watch the headlines and go do something useful.
Joe and Bob, The problem is that we do not have any politicians who are more interested in the good of the country than in the good of their party or themselves.
In which side of the Stygian stream is Charon’s Wharf? I couldn’t help asking.
Andy et al are right about the politicians.
I also think the major conglomerates that own most media are engaged in a conscious effort to dum down the American mind – and succeeding!
Honest, folks, we don’t teach kids this stuff in J-school, and MSU demands a pretty high standards of its graduates.
But if you take a gander at “News Wars” on Frontline, you’ll perhaps see how market forces, spin doctors, emerging communications technology and politics affect what you see and hear.
It’s not just bad reporting and obsession with celebrity. Though those things certainly exist.
I do an ethics exercise with my PR class each semester, in which one of the options is to lie their way out of crisis. About half of them choose this as the path of least resistance, though it later turns into a huge quagmire.
Actually the News has many stories about people who do things that a little forethought would tell them they are very unlikely to get away with. Here’s a for instance. A local real estate lawyer steals millions through a check kiting scheme. After three years and some conspicuous consumption he is disbarred and force to plea bargain most of his ill-gotten gains–including his share in the pricey family home–to avoid more severe penalties. Perhaps he learned something from his mistakes I wonder if any one else did.