What We Learn From The Media - How We're Supposed to Feel and Act?

What We Learn From The Media - How We're Supposed to Feel and Act?

by Marilyn Mackenzie

The other night as I sat at my computer, Nightline was playing on the TV in the next room.  It was the day that the information came out about the billionaires and how much money each one had lost in the stock market.

The announcer began with words something like this:  Like we're really going to feel sorry for billionaires who lost money.

I sat here thinking, "Did that guy really say that?"  At the same time, I realized that people all over the United States were probably saying (or shouting), "Yeah.  Like we really care about that."  And I wondered how it came to be that people didn't care about billionaires losing money, or millionaires, or even the guy next door who makes only $200,000 per year.

It was not always this way.  Once upon a time, we all realized that if one of us succeeded, we should rejoice with him/her.  We realized that if one succeeded, that one could possibly help us suceed, or at least offer us a job of some kind.  But it was never about us back then.  It was always about being happy for the other guy.  About showing unconditional love and compassion.

Now people look at the "rich" as people with some kind of disease.  The media has helped that, as have politicians.  I find that rather funny, since TV personalities probably make much more money than Joe Average, and we know that politicians do.  Doesn't anyone remember when the list of politicians came out showing their net worth? 

The media and those wealthy politicians tell people how to think and feel and react.  That Nightline reporter did.  They also feed us false information and half-truths.   I read recently, for instance, about how the media portrayed Gerald Ford as something he was not.  When he was President, I was only about 22 years old.  What I remember of him was that he was a "bumbling idiot" and I realized that information came from the news media.  It turns out that he was actually a skilled athelete, an accomplished student and a very intelligent man.  They portrayed President Bush (GW) as also being stupid, but that is also not true.

It's easier to believe the media than to do one's own research, though.  It's easier to let them think and react for us, and to just follow along.

Tonight, though, I discovered firsthand how biased the media can be.  The reporting of our Cincinnati Tea Party was disgraceful, in my opinion, at least by 3 of the 4 local stations.  But those who were not there have nothing else upon which to judge or form opinions.

They think we're supposed to hate people who have succeeded in life?  People who have worked hard for years to become what they are?  People who have invested in their futures and who have been hurt by the recent downturns?

"Ah," you say, "but they can afford to lose money."

I think that's the same thing a third-world country resident would say of you if you lost any money.  You can afford it.

You know what we cannot afford?  We cannot afford to let the media spoon-feed faulty information to us and to decide how we should feel about it.

Personally, I do feel sorry for the billionaires who lost money.  I realize that if they stop investing, we will all be hurting.

Perhaps I feel for them not because I know any of them personally, but because I do know one or two persons who have become millionaires.  The difference - to me - between a millionaire and a billionaire is not something I can really imagine.  They're both rich to me.  But knowing how they started out in life and in the business world, and how they have worked hard to succeed makes it impossible for me to be angry with them.  I rejoice in their successes.

Are there selfish billionaires and millionaires?  Of course.  But there are selfish people amongst us as well.

I saw a study recently that showed that if each American had given 10% of his/her income to some worthwhile charity - one that helps to feed the homeless or the hungry or the disabled or whatever - then many of the government programs would not be necessary.

When did Americans stop giving generously?  Probably when they decided that buying "stuff" for thier own homes and families was far more important than giving anything to the poor.

I'll bet the media won't tell you that.

Okay, I've had my say.