Some time last year, the building where I work was kind enough to install ceiling-hung LCD TVs in the lobby next to the elevators, so that while you were waiting for the elevator, you could catch up on 20 seconds of news.
I don’t have a TV, nor do I follow American media. Most days, I take a look at BBC News (the most impartial and far-reaching news organisation I know of) to get a feel for what’s going on in the world, and back home. As such, I am not really exposed to the American media except when I happen to be in an airport, or doctor’s office where they are showing CNN or Fox News.
These new TVs in my building have exposed me on a daily basis to what most Americans wake up to and form their views from on the world at large.
Which is quite scary.
I am, without exaggerating, saddened by the state of American media. This morning’s discussion tipped me over the edge: the figureheads of news and information were analysing how Justin Bieber was being mean to his lawyers, and whether he was on a prescription for Xanax.
Who gives a flying fuck?
I mean seriously, America. These are your national news networks discussing a spoiled, Canadian, hyped-up brat, when there are far more important things going on in the world, like planes mysteriously disappearing in mid-air, and humanitarian and political crises in numerous places, such as Ukraine, Syria and Venezuela to name but a few. Do you not ever turn on the TV and think “Seriously, what is this, why am I watching it and why do I give a crap?”?
Stop drinking the Kool-Aid. Wake up and smell the coffee. Be your own person, form your own views, and stop caring about meaningless drivel that the media are feeding you.
