Drydocked

Imagine for just a second that you were born and raised in a part of the world untouched by news media. I know it hurts but try. Imagine coming to America today, March 13th, 2008, and seeing what has the media scrambling for the (true?) story. The internet, television, I-phones, news and information whenever and wherever you want it. Elliot Spitzer fetishes ,gas reaching $4 a gallon, Shelley Duncan’s high slide into second, the Rockets 20-gamer, NCAA action, bubble teams.I sometimes ask myself what my life would be like without all of these trivial bits of information floating around in my head. I guess it is all in the information we seek, however some tidbits are harder to ignore. Information and news stories are now accessible through so many different means, that it has become hard to differentiate what is real and what is “reality”. (Sadly that term has been tainted.)

On the one hand, the wealth of information helps us find out all we want/need to know about the topic whether it be a new draft prospect, a story of sex in the oval office, or Britney’s new haircut. This being the far more popular face of sensationalized “news”, which the majority of Americans prefer. However, within a political realm, the internet, and blogs just like this one make it increasingly more difficult for casual citizens to unearth the facts. During an election year this problem is especially troublesome.

Don’t get me wrong, I understand that talk of economics, foreign policy, and leadership of our nation isn’t the most flashy coin in the jar, but it should command some attention. It isn’t at all wrong to retrieve information from less “traditional” outlets, in fact thats absolutely a safer bet. Those “traditional” outlets are the ones pimping 24-hour-a-day REALITY.

According to the Nielsen Ratings for last week, American Idol was watched by roughly 28.3 Million people, with the closest news program being a 20/20 special on the Royal Family. Seems as though we care more about foreign royalty and psychotic “singers” than we do about relevant current events. (Maybe those 20/20 viewers were researching Simon Cowell’s heritage?) Which is why money will continue to be pumped to back this system of distraction to make sure we keep paying $3.50 for gas (if you’re lucky) and voting for candidates in elections because “He seems like you could have a beer with him”. It feels good to be distracted from all these tough issues facing us at this point, but at what point should we stop and remove to dressing at stare at these wounds in their rawest form.

I guess it all has to do with the choices we make and information we seek in a world where it is all at our fingertips. It is time we realize how lucky we are to have such incredible resources, and use them to make informed decisions about things that will affect this generation as well as those who aren’t here yet. The longer we sit on our hands and take in whatever is fed to us without questioning things, the longer it will take to fight back.

Welcome.