Saturday, January 17, 2015

The Doomsday Dance

At the risk of provoking your slightly raised eyebrow of derision as a response, permit me to wonder and worry are the acid-crazies finally in charge of the roller-coaster around here? I’m looking at Boko Haram, ISIL, Vlad the Intruder in Ukraine, to name just three still warm headline generators.

Two weeks ago, who knew the difference between Charlie Hebdo and Calvin Klein? And now, the carnage and catastrophe are part of a “that’s old news” cycle as one gruesome sensation chases the next across our web news feeds and 24/7/365 TV news circuses stations and sales of ADD medication skyrocket around the globe.

Have you ever noticed there are NO broadcast ‘all news’ operations-it’s strictly cable everywhere. Yeah, odd, innit? You don’t seriously think that’s by accident, do you? Think again.

Nothing like having your prejudices confirmed if not celebrated to create a core constituency to whom advertisers can pitch products between inoculations of flat-earth, gunmen on the grassy knoll Cajun pabulum masquerading as news the 'lame-stream media' won’t cover. Crafted by folks who never got to have lunch at the cool kids' table, these flawed creatures are happiest when sowing discord and cable news of all stripes does that to beat the band.

On a cold New England Saturday, let me offer a quote from a native son, Robert Frost, first said long before the World Wide Weird had even been thought of but is frighteningly spot-on for this moment in what’s left of our history. “Half the world is composed of people who have something to say and can’t and the other half who have nothing to say and keep on saying it.”

-bill kenny

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