Jon Stewart brought up an often underreported (and can you blame the media for this?) point about the hyperbolizing and overreacting nature that the media (particularly cable news media) has come to embrace in this country. It seems that we can't go a few months (or even a few weeks) without incessantly hearing about unimportant drivel such as the Balloon Boy media stunt, the Bristol Palin never-ending saga, it goes on and on. Meanwhile, we seem to forget that this country is still fighting two wars abroad, with countless troops stationed worldwide that are in harms way, or the fact that there are still millions of Americans in this country who live below the poverty line. Disasters in Haiti and Southeast Asia have given us a glimpse of the true problems this world faces, as well as the neglect they receive by the mainstream media. It's stories like those that prompt Americans watching the 6 o'clock news to say "wow, that's a shame," and then move on to the more pertinent issues of the day: something happened with Lindsay Lohan again! When will she finally get her act together? Her well-being and sanity greatly concerns me!
In our articles, we read that the increasing neglect by the media to report on matters, as well as the stories the media (purposefully?) overblows in order to increase ratings, has put our country at a risk in the future. The 9/11 article discussed the very real dangers of the 9/11 attack, but explained that the media was all too eager to convince Americans that war, especially with a country that had nothing to do with the attacks on that fateful morning, was the right thing to do. Imagine the day when North Korea test launches a missile that doesn't fail miserably. I can only imagine that every single analyst (at least on FoxNews) that night will be crying out for a full invasion of North Korea. If we're still playing the realist game in world politics, even on a relatively smaller scale than in decades past, shouldn't the attempted nuclear proliferation of North Korea be expected?
The presidency is the most powerful job certainly in this country, and if not the world. But is the judgement of the president at the beck and call of what the media is reporting on that day? Or can the president unfairly use the media to his/her advantage? Don't Americans deserve a better leader than Bill O'Reilly or Keith Olbermann?
We'll get there, at some point. Soon enough the populace will realize that the media is a business, and that the news that they receive may not always be the news they need or want to hear. It's inevitable that something that grows so exponentially will eventually crumble beneath its own weight. However, we may not recognize the point where the American people have reached a consensus to make decisions for themselves, rather than having their government or their media making those decisions for them.
It may not be a spectacular sight with fireworks and marching bands playing, but it will still be an important milestone in our society.
Because sometimes, the light at the end of the tunnel "is just New Jersey."
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