There’s a lot of talk today about people being so opinionated that the word “compromise” has become outdated.
I hear it in the national media all the time, even in things like the weather.
There’s no longer just “storm damage”. It’s either “horrendous” or “horrific”.
I get the impression that today’s journalists were going through their work stations and uncovered a thesaurus for the first time.
I guess it’s all tied in to “climate change” and a conscious effort to make us believe the weather has never been more extreme than today.
It’s interesting to note that if you look back in weather records, you’ll find a number of high temperature marks in this part of the country were set in the 1930s.
Author John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath” was spawned by the “Dust Bowl” in parts of the Midwest.
A combination of severe drought teamed with wind erosion aided by dryland farming caused choking dust storms that impacted a wide area of the U.S.
Dos that mean we had “climate change” back then?
We hear words such as “epic” and “record-breaking” so often that I think the impact of the event is lessened.
A TV station flashes “Breaking news,” but anymore, it’s just the latest story and the media hasn’t had enough time to “spice it up”. It’s driven by the 24-hour news effort that CNN spawned in 1980.
Combined with a huge disregard for being “decent” or “fair”, everyone is led to believe that we have very little common ground.
I’m not one to urge stifling of opinions, but even the most obscure and extreme ideas have access to way too many eyes and ears in a society that is lax in its effort to determine facts.
Outside of emergencies or new developments, most news occurs Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. It’s when government and businesses are usually functioning.
I’m a Jack Webb “Dragnet” sort of a guy: “Just the facts.” And on each story, I believe there are two extremes, and somewhere between each extreme is reality.
Personally, I think we need to be more discerning in our research and opinions.
Don’t take the media and things like Facebook and Instagram as fact until you chew on it a bit.
It’s better for your digestion.
John Foster anchors “All-News-in-the-Morning” weekdays on 1010 WCSI-AM and 98.1 FM. You can read his weekly blog at johnnyonthespot1950.com and monthly in The Republic. Send comments to [email protected].
