You are no doubt hearing it all
the time lately from friends, family, coworkers and vague acquaintances.
I know I am. They say they’re exhausted from the campaigns, the name-calling, the
arguing in the internet public square and on TV, the disinformation, the nasty commercials, you name it.
The anxiety, stress, fear, suspicion, distrust and
gloom are everywhere -- palpable on our streets, in our homes and in our offices.
We all say it’s
inescapable, that the “media” shoves it all in our faces 24 hours a day.
But what about us? We make the choice to visit websites or watch the news channels. They are not
forcing us to.
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The whole thing comes to a head Tuesday night with hours of Election Night coverage on all networks and media web sites with their blue-and-red-state
maps, their projections and worst of all, the monotonous chatter of armies of talking heads inducing talking headaches.
But can we manage our consumption?
Perhaps cut down on the time we spend taking all of it in on Tuesday night? Or only watch it with one eye, or through our fingers?
Maybe tune in only at the
top of the hour when polls close in certain states and the networks report on the exit polling? Or, heaven forbid, not watch any of it?
Sometimes I ask
myself this question: The mantra we have heard our whole lives is some variation on “we must all stay informed,” but do we really have to?
Two such quotes are
attributed to Thomas Jefferson. “A well-informed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny,” says one of them.
“Whenever the people are
well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government,” says the other.
Sometimes I think: What do I have to stay so “well-informed”
for? The world will do what it feels like doing whether I pay attention to it or not.
Besides, Jefferson was talking about a “well-informed”
people. Today, that ship has sailed.
And yet, well-informed or disinformed, we soak up all of it like sponges. We are like motorists rubbernecking at an
accident. We cannot look away, although we know we should.
What we are slowing down to see has the potential
to be sickening, grotesque, and emotionally and mentally disturbing, just like the fetid spectacle put on this year by politicians and their news media parasites.
I’m not up on some sort of pedestal or high horse. I’m just like everybody else, and I’m
writing this TV Blog on Monday with unease, foreboding and even dread in advance of Tuesday.
Yes, the whole thing does come to a head all day and far
into the evening Tuesday night, but does it come to an end?
Or to put it another way, will peace break out on Wednesday?
This seems doubtful, whether
I stay well-informed or not.
Screenshots courtesy of C-Span.org: Donald Trump at a rally Monday in Raleigh, North Carolina. Kamala Harris addresses
Arab-Americans Saturday in East Lansing, Michigan.