Conventional wisdom requires an individual to finish his or her dinner before dessert. Even if one must sift through green vegetables, rubbery chicken and bland potatoes, it is still better to eat these things before taking in tasty but empty calories.
Today, in our world of sensationalized 24-hour news networks, countless Internet blogs and outrageous media pundits, too many people are filling up on dessert before they have had any dinner. What I mean by this is that many news organizations and pundits use an empty-calorie agenda to spread their message. News has become commentary backed by a personality providing an opinion rather than a report. Both Fox News and MSNBC, for example, have become the Republican and Democratic parties’ 24-hour nonstop spokesperson for divisive ideas. Like dessert, they fill us up with empty calories.
However, dessert is not all bad. Although those who skip it are healthiest, if consumed in moderation, dessert can be a tasty treat that adds flavor to our lives. But as our mothers warned, it is best to eat our dinner first.
Rather than starting off with what commentators think about an issue, it is more nutritious to read a news story in the paper or some medium that is not specifically opinion oriented. Like dinner, searching for non opinion-driven information is more time consuming and less convenient than turning on Fox or MSNBC to fill up on a diet reinforcing your own opinions.
Doing one’s own research on current issues from a variety of sources is the only way for an individual to form ideals that are not tainted by the big business of partisan politics. However, watching partisan shows or listening to sensationalized talk show hosts is not necessarily a bad thing. Free speech and the ability to allow all kinds of opinions in the media is what makes our country dynamic. However, the danger is when people blindly consume the opinions without curiosity about the facts those opinions are based on.
For example, Real Time With Bill Maher on HBO is one of my favorite television programs. Maher is outspoken about being liberal and anti-Republican. While I agree with some of Maher’s beliefs, there are plenty of issues on which I disagree with him. I watch his show not to see him regurgitate my own thinking, but rather to see a debate on current issues between guests with diverse opinions who allow me to test my views and gain perspective. Maher helps me examine ideas rather than having them spoon-fed to me.
The problem we face as a nation is not the quantity of opinion media. Rather, it is that too much of our population treats pundit opinions as a substitute for thinking critically about the news. The consequence of being uninformed on any particular day is not severe. A steady diet of empty-calorie media entertainment, however, lacking in substantive nutrition, is polarizing our society into a diabetic coma.
How do you feel about the effects of a 24-hour news cycle? Do you think your opinions have been influenced and changed by the way you get your information? Tell us your thoughts! Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
