Right up front I'll admit to a certain level of hypocrisy in writing this blog. I've certainly offered my share of negative opinion in some of my writings. Although it is a true reflection of what I am thinking and feeling at the time, some of what I write fails the sniff test for being "gracious" and "edifying" as the scriptures encourage our conversations to be (eg. Ephesians 4:29; Colossians 4:6).
My schedule does not allow me to spend much time listening to the radio, but from time to time I tune in to a couple different talk shows to get a sense of what is on the hosts' minds. Almost without exception I end up turning them off. The level of discourse, it seems to me, has become so befouled with anger, mudslinging, innuendo, name calling and polarization that I find these programs degrading and mood destroying.
I've heard advocates on both sides of the political spectrum piling on with insults and labels such as "stupid", "idiot", and more. Do we really need to hear some know it all say things like, "No Christian can vote for John McCain?" Or, "Barack Obama is demonic." (Both of these quotes came from the same guest on one of these shows.) The host was egging him on. In continuation of my own hypocrisy...I don't know how any Christian can listen to this crap, let alone sit behind the microphone.
I find the whole business offensive and very unhelpful. The political and religious discourse in this country has devolved into a character assassinating, eye gouging, take no prisoners, destroy all who disagree free for all. It is mean and it is ugly on both sides.
I don't know about you, but I'd like to tune in and hear dialogue that addresses the key issues respectfully, with maturity and with graciousness.
3 comments:
Ah, Talk Radio. A bastion of intellectual neo-tribalism. Choice in media with the advent of technology like Sirus and XM Radio ensure that virtually any crackpot/POV has a voice.
Here in Madison, WI there is a channel devoted to public broadcast wherein at certain times of the day you can tune in and view an otherwise non-descript entity cooking items of varying purposes on an outdoor charcoal grill--y'know, the little round black ones. Sometimes there'll be a breast of chicken or filet of fish but sometimes there's bowling balls or men's clothing.
It comes to this: if someone so chooses, they can surround themselves with exactly what they want in almost every facet of media. Periodicals, novels, music, television programming or movies. A ready-made cottage industry culture that guarantees that what is being heard, read, seen, and thought is "safe." Discounting how incredibly narcissistic that is (narcissism being the epitome of a closed-system), it might just work if it were isolated and protectionist. But pretty much only the Amish are good at that.
What it typically amounts to is trying to shape an objective reality. On Earth as it is in my notion of Heaven, yeah? Like Peter Gomes says, "If our good news is always bad news for someone, we think, then let it be bad news for someone else and not for us."
Each presidential nominee appears to be taking heat from their respective bases for being too centrist. Obama can't appease the Left because he's affirming gun rulings and McCain can't woo the Evangelicals because he's not publicly spiritual enough.
It's these ticky-tack standards and slavish devotion to labels that seem to be what are so divisive, to me. But hey, there's an audience for that sort've thing--and despite my natural inclination toward seeking out what I like and going with it, I'm going to try and allow for another point-of-view. I s'pose that starts with Talk Radio.
Guess who's meaner? Bloggers!! Hit and run linguists load up their dictionaries and type - KABOOM!!! I used to respond to articles on my local newspaper's website until I realized it was all a game between the bloggers to get each other stirred up and take cheap shots.
And that's the point of talk radio: not the truth, but stirring up the kind of controversy that increases ratings using inflammatory rhetoric.
It's a stupid game that nobody wins, unless you apply my revised rule for the Lottery: "You can't lose if you don't play..."
Now, give me a good old fashioned Barber Shop, where you had to look people in the eye when you said something, and knew they knew your whole family, and that you'd have to look them in the eye again tomorrow - THERE we can have some meaningful dialog. Face to face...I think we miss that.
Dad, You're a great American! Mega dittos from me!!! ;-)
On another note, your description of talk radio sounds remarkably like a lot of churches - the way they interact with one another and with those outside the church. Tsk, tsk, tsk!
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