You and the News
by Erik Pavia
March 4, 2009
During the drafting of our constitution, there arose a question of how direct our democratic representation should be. How much power should each citizen directly receive? The literacy rate of Americans was relatively low at the time, so there were those that were skeptical as to the ability of the average person to rule intelligently and responsible. The general public was thought to be uninformed, unreasonable, and uninterested. Such citizens could not be granted with the power to govern themselves. This attitude was obvious in the way that voting rights were granted. Not only did a person have to be white, male, and older than 21, but they also had to own land, just to assure their responsibility. Luckily for us, not everyone felt that all Americans were ignorant and uninterested and voting rights were extended to all ethnicities, sexes, and income levels. The optimists and visionaries who had faith in every woman and man and everything in between succeeded. Weighing in at 19 years young, I’m especially glad that people had enough faith in the youth of the country.
Sadly we failed them.
It has been widely accepted that in order to be responsible citizens, we need to stay informed on the issues that our countries face. It is impossible to develop reasonable ideas and solutions to problems if we do not know what the problems are in the first place. It’s great to have an opinion, but it should be an educated opinion if it is to have validity. I recently heard an argument between two individuals regarding the economic crisis that we hear so much of. One individual was arguing that it was wrong of the government to give General Motors 700 billion dollars. Small businesses needed that money more. The other said that it was smart of the government because if General Motors didn’t survive, then Toyota would become the biggest car company and all the jobs would follow Toyota to its home country, China. You do the fact check. It seemed to me that the issues the two were trying to discuss had some intellectual girth: the recession, manufacturing, innovation, off shoring, or globalization are all topics worth a conversation or two. It’s just hard to take an argument seriously when it’s based in misinformation.
It isn’t only the national issues that are important. Why did ASARCO close? What is the situation in Mexico, and more specifically, Juarez? How close is UTEP to reaching the coveted Tier 1 status in the UT system? Although they may not be as attention engrossing as national news, issues such as these often affect each of us more directly and immediately than the woes of Detroit and D.C.
So what should I care that two people can’t get their facts straight? Thanks to the well wishers mentioned earlier, those people were citizens, taxpayers, and voters. They, along with you and me, help govern our country. Don’t get me wrong. I am very thankful that we all have the right to vote. If it wasn’t for the dreamers, I may not have the right to vote either. I just wish we were all knowledgeable about what was going on in our country. I almost feel embarrassed when people don’t know what the credit crisis is. Those two misinformed persons are my countrymen. They should know better.
You may think that it’s hard to stay up to date on a regular basis (daily, not monthly), but there really is never an excuse. You don’t have cable to watch CNN on? CNN has on demand video at their site. The Wall Street Journal is too expensive? If you’re a student, then it may be more inexpensive than you think. You don’t like clicking link after link after link just to find something of interest or particular importance? Instead of spending precious time scouring the internet for relevant news, you can use sites like Google Reader to help you get all of the news in just one place; despite its apparent complexity, Reader is way easier to use than you may think, and it is feature heavy for those who want a more refined experience.
The point is that staying on top of the news is easier than ever. We have the internet now. And it’s more important than ever to stay connected to the world. Changes in businesses and in policy happen minute by minute, not day by day. The older folks call this the information age for a reason; they say that they get overwhelmed with the amount of information younger people expose themselves to everyday. They still read print for some inexplicable reason. It’s a pitiful of our more tech savvy youth to be less informed then their parents. The older folks call this the information age; they also say that the youth doesn’t keep itself informed. For our sake, and for theirs, please don’t prove them right.
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Bob from Accounting March 4, 2009, 11:10 pm
The media serves as a linkage institution between citizens and government. In many ways, the media has acted as a voice for the people, acting as a tool of accountability (e.g. Passage of Pure Food and Drug Act, Watergate, and anything Lisa Ling does). But, there is no accountability system for the media to be held to. Often, major networks, publications and syndicates editorialize more than they report, swaying popular sentiment, creating negative results for the welfare of the republic. First Amendment rights should be protected to their fullest extent, but they should not come at the expense of another individual, and more importantly the expense of the United States. Say what you want, but if you aren’t reporting the news, rather creating the news, don’t call it the news, call it what it is: editorializing. Call yourselves, Cable Editorial Network, or the FOX Nightly Journal. Truth and Content in labeling in regards to food products has saved countless lives and brought quality to our food and drugs, now think how Truth and Content in labeling of information will save the minds of our citizens, and bring a new quality to our republic.