National Priorities?

I’ve slogged along with this blog for over 6 years. In all that time the issues remain stunningly the same. The problem I see is that real problems rarely get addressed holistically; only in part are they calmed and salved; but then we see a nasty eruption of the same problem in another year or so.

One year the focus is on national debt. Another year it is on employment or unemployment. Yet other years – and seasons, too – the issues revolve around sports, car styles, celebrities and their love interests, celebrities and their fashion choices, and so much more. Issues: some matter; some don’t.

I have a morning reading website that gives me the weather, national and international news reviews, and links to local happenings. It always surprises me what the web editors feels are the primary interests of their readers. Most days they lead off with a national political story, but more often than not, it is a sports story playing the lead role.

Scan through the headline stories and I view 1 or 2 national items, maybe 1 international story, 4 sponsored pages (ads), 4 celebrity articles and perhaps 3 or 4 sports interests. Of 12 to 15 items, very little news of importance; but a lot of lowest common denominator items focusing on celebrities, sports personalities, and ad related links.

The web page has turned into a tabloid advertising rag in electronic form. How quickly this devolved.

Lowest common denominator. Short attention span. Who’s paying for the web site? What revenue flows must they earn to pay the bills? That explains a lot of it, the shabby news coverage and the sensational coverage of sports and celebrities.

Lost in all of this are the things that matter: quality of governance; progress of important issues being handled or mishandled; political discussions focusing on national priorities; education of the public in these matters so they can vote and discuss intelligently.

At least this digital news is free. Well, not really. We pay for it in internet access fees, cable fees, and computer hardware and software expenses. We also pay by weathering the wilting barrage of ads and other mindless clutter.

But we pay a still higher price in the non-coverage of important, priority national issues. Not paying attention to these issues costs our nation enormous sums: poor selection of ideologues as politicians (Christianity is our national religion! HIV/AIDs patients should be quarantined! Religion-based and charter schools do not detract from the public school systems; etc.); mismanagement of the economy (towering deficits yet crushing tax cuts making the debt worse); nonsensical management of social programs (cutting education funding but expanding prisons managed by private corporations); and the list goes on. How many trillions of dollars do we spend fixing problems we created in the first place?

The free press guaranteed in the Constitution is no longer free. It is bought and paid for by special interests. So too, the political system, bought and paid for by special interests.

Where do we see investigative reporting cover these issues in depth? Piecemeal maybe; in depth, rarely.

Our nation is in deep trouble and most do not know this. They are off on a happy ride thinking of celebrities and sporting events. As long as they eat well in a comfortable home and drive a late model car, they are happy as pigs in the mud. How often do they need reminding that those elements of a happy life are short lived and at risk? Do they even listen? Do they care?

Probably not. But boy! Try and educate them on these matters and suddenly the messenger is the ideologue and trouble maker. He’s the ‘libtard’ who spent too much time reading and in school.

Hmmm. I think a lot of people have a huge shock in store for them. Trouble is the shock waves will damage a lot of the rest of us, too.

When will the free people of America wake up and see what is happening? How free is free?

Priorities matter.

October 30, 2017