The news media has gone off the
deep end with word games. So called pundits blab away at each news cycle with
no context whatsoever. They have managed to devise these labels that have no
real reference to anything. These one-word, one-liners become conversational
spit-balls that get flung around amongst us. We get mad at each other for no
reason except that TV news media sucks!
We need a good dose of
exposition here, a rational common place. Ostensibly a factual nonbiased reference
for TV news media is a naive pipedream but could we at least hear one of our mainstream
voices say, “Y’all don’t know anything!”
Take the word “jobs” for
example. America needs jobs. We need job creators. That’s what we’re told. Are
we really out of jobs? Is there nothing out there for people to do and get paid
for?
Wrong. There’s plenty of work
out there and we all know this. Chances are you are doing the job for two or
more people on you own. We wait in frustration for others to do their jobs while they're overworked, underpaid and have no help. It’s all around us. Either you are overworked
or unassisted or both.
We do not need “jobs” we need “hiring.”
The jobs are there. We need those with businesses and those in government to
lose the fear and hire people. But they won’t do this. Why? Because they believe that it's safer to have less people. They forget that more people means more productivity;
more productivity means more revenue. It’s that simple. Yes it is.
Fear is derived from another
word that’s flung around in TV news media, “economy.” They’ve managed to redefine
this word so that we don’t even need to call it a “bad economy.” We already assume
it’s bad. “The economy today. . . [L]” Or, “Today’s economy . . . .” is always
followed by something bad. And we act as people living in a bad economy because
we hear these words. It’s all in our heads.
TV news media pundits are good
at one thing, acting. They can act. There’s no lack of emotion, opinion and drama
on the news. It’s plenty entertaining. Socrates was right. This rhetoric only
proves one thing. They don’t know anything.
My Advice to You
Don’t get tangled in spreading
these words their way. Speak about the meanings of things. Leave the labels
out. Don’t fear or get angry over words. Words by itself mean nothing. The
truth is, it doesn’t matter. Things could very easily be better for all of us if we just believe it.
To the Pundits
I have two words for ‘ya, “fuck
off.”
I hadn’t really considered how the media is redefining words until I read the word “economy” in this blog post. I immediately thought of early mornings on the treadmill at the gym where CNN is blasting on every TV. When I hear the word “economy” I immediately get a knot in my stomach and turn up the volume on my iPod. I hadn’t realized how conditioned I have become. “Economy” has become synonymous with “hardship.”
ReplyDelete“And we act as people living in a bad economy because we hear these words. It’s all in our heads.” Language is truly powerful. The rhetoric in one word has the power to establish the mindset of the majority of a nation. Remember a time when the word “economy” had people buying houses, racking up charges on credit cards, and taking vacations? It is amazing how the rhetorical shift in a single word can affect so many facets of society.
Autumn, glad you got what I wrote here. I believe the list goes on: "welfare, spending, healthcare" etc. And what is it with people blaring the news in the gym! I know right! I have to turn off 4-5 TVs blaring Fox News every time I go in. Annoying! ;-)
ReplyDelete