“I read the news today, oh boy.”
Posted by Warner Lewis on May 4th, 2007
My dad was a kind, soft-spoken man and a successful business person. He came from means but chose to work his own way up through school as well as the corporate ladder. He understood and appreciated personal responsibility, character and depth. He died in the early 1960s and I have often wondered (and winced) at what his impressions might be of current American culture. Impressions not based on a political philosophy or resistance to change but based on values of pure decency and common sense.
For example, what would be his reaction to a typical American newscast?
Role-play his part for minute and imagine his reaction to these current “newsmakers”:
- Anna Nicole Smith
- Don Imus
- Seung-Hui Cho
- Rosie O’Donnell.
Warner, I’ve just watched the news for the last month. I have a few questions:
• What about Anna Nicole Smith makes her newsworthy? Her story is a pathetic, tragic window-peep into a confused, shallow person of little talent, substance or character. From what I could tell, she left no memorable legacy. Why would she rate a minute on the news or a page in a magazine?
• About this Imus fellow. Is all it takes anymore to entertain people is lobbing a few racial or cultural barbs? The resulting over-reaction to his comments were also deplorable. The entire affair picked at an ugly American scab that just won’t heal. After all these years Warner, are we still thinking in terms of black and white?
• And Seung-Hui Cho. He shared misdirected revenge with 32 fellow human beings who made the fatal mistake of being at a safe, learned and proper place at absolutely the wrong time. An angry mind, innocent victims and an electronic media staging area were far too lethal a combination. Did he make any effort to help himself? Where was his sense of responsibility? What a selfish, cowardly act.
- The last story I saw was about this gal (yes, gal) Rosie O’Donnell. Beyond her loud and selfish demeanor, what makes her popular? Besides being confrontational, abrasive and thoughtless, I guess I’m missing the mystique. Warner, tell me, how does she continue earning a place in the American spotlight?
To all of his questions, I would have to answer, “Dad, I can’t tell you. I don’t know how these four dominated our print and electronic media for months at a time. This must seem baffling to you.”
It may very well be that our cultural standards “frog” has been so slowly and steadily boiled over time that we haven’t noticed how low those standards have become. Have we allowed ourselves and our society to become so “dumbed down” that people with no talent and acts of stupidity and violence not only capture our “imagination” but are now commonplace?
Do these icons and behavior speak for our times? Do they speak for us? I pray they do not but in many cases I believe they do.
There are countless examples of extraordinary talent, courage, humanity, ingenuity and valor that occur every day all around us. But we rarely hear about them, let alone via the media. And if they did cover these acts, would we buy the magazine?
Would we watch the nightly show?
In American we have the privilege of choice about what we value, what we deem important and whom we observe and call hero. Whether we exercise that right is up to us.
at 7:10 a.m.
Great blog. I think about the paths Rosie O'Donnell and Ellen Degeneres have taken since coming out to the public. Both comics, both gay - yet one has completely endeared herself to America and the other has offended just about everybody. It's all about being a nice person and taking the high road. That's how you win people over to your cause.
cathy
at 10:27 a.m.
You forgot Paris Hilton who now appears to be going to jail for 45 days because she assumed she was above the law. How in the world has this vapid and arrogant young woman become newsworthy?
at 9:31 p.m.
And there are those who are predicting that Ms. Hilton's incarceration will make her even more popular with the young women who emulate her every move.
Sigh. It appears that being mean, rude and irresponsible is in vogue these days. We need to stop feeding this monster.
Remember the old Saturday Night Live joke-- every week for the first year of the show, Chevy Chase would announce "and this just in, Generalissimo Franco is still dead."
One local TV station started every broadcast (morning, noon and 10 p.m.) with a story on the parentage of Anna Nicole's baby. It went on for almost two weeks until viewers sent masses of e-mails calling for them to stop.
I don't buy a magazine with Paris' photo on the cover, or with stories about the Rosie-Donald feud. I don't listen to Don Imus, no matter who the guest might be. And I do not watch Simon insult people on American Idol.
I would rather read a good book or visit PBS than have anger and cruelty as my entertainment of the day.
None of that stuff is funny to me. No, I haven't lost my sense of humor. It was never funny to begin with.