When I was a kid, I remember going through the channels before church on Sunday morning looking for something to hold my attention. When I came upon Meet the Press or Face the Nation, I would turn the dial quickly. I thought those shows were boring and always wondered, "Who would watch this?"Then, in my teen years, my taste changed. During high school and college I was fascinated by what politicians and pundits are saying about each other. It was a school fight for adults. I craned my neck to hear the stings and watch people sweat hard questions.
Times have changed once again. Now I am mostly sickened by it. I think I pay attention too much to appreciate it as I once did.
First of all, politicians and pundits will say anything. They seem to ask themselves one of two questions when preparing to speak. It is either, "will this make my side look good?" or more often, "will this make the other side look bad?" If the answer is yes to at least one of these things, they give themselves the green light to open their mouth and let fly. One question they never consider it seems to be "is what I am about to say really true?" This is where I find stomach illness welling up in me.
Both sides are guilty of this and they say the same things:
Republican: We cannot continue with the failed policies of this president.
Democrat: We cannot go back to the failed policies of George W. Bush.
That is just the beginning. Listen for the term "flip-flop" or "flip-flopper." Who is that term describing? It only depends on who is doing the talking. Also, everyone now makes a point with a close fist - like giving the thumbs up sign, but only with the thumb not sticking up but closing around the index finger. I think this was a tactic that has surfaced so politicians wouldn't get into the habit of finger pointing. I am not sure why a closed fist is better, but I guess someone did some kind of poll or test on it and passed out the results to everyone.
Don't get me wrong, there are some differences among factions when communicating. The Democrats are clearly not as good at getting their message out. I really don't think they know who they are talking to when they make their points. The often say the wrong thing in response to an attack. When they do have an adequate response, they tend to speak over the heads of a lot of the folks. Those that are on top of the issues may get it, but the rest are tempted to think it is just double-talk.
The Republicans seem to understand their audience a little better. TThey are masters of swaying the simpletons. They speak in simple terms and simple concepts. Listen to AM radio sometime! It is just full of conservative talk show hosts saying those idiotic and unbelievable things - yet it has been very effective. When Democrats try that technique, they seem to sound like cartoon characters. As one progressive put it, "we have already lost the idiot vote."
Back to the Sunday news programs. It seems that I have come almost full circle. The question, "who would watch this?" wants to resurface after all these years. But this time, I have the answer and I don't like it. I, and those of my ilk, are the ones who would watch it. It is like a wreck on the highway. I know it is probably going to make me sick to seet, but I just can't turn away!
