Well, we have received our absentee ballots for the upcoming election. I have to admit, even the routine parts of this process seem to be fraught with tension this time around. I am being extra-careful to fill in the ovals the right way, using a pen of the right color. And I am going to drive to the election board and deliver my ballot in person, rather than take any chances with the U.S. Mail.
Yes, I am paranoid. I am also guilty of over-valuing the importance of my ballot:
⬭ It’s not like my ballot is going to bring Ruth Bader Ginsburg back to life.
⬭ My ballot is not going to deter Mitch McConnell, whose hypocrisy observes no bounds. McConnell and his cronies have clearly shown that hypocrisy is punished less than dogma is rewarded, and my ballot is not going to change that.
⬭ My ballot is not going to undo all the damage that Trump & Company have inflicted on democratic principles and the function of our government, at all levels.
⬭ My ballot is not going to end racism or get all the rogue police officers off the street.
⬭ There is no referendum on my ballot on whether Russia should continue to interfere with our election processes. Or whether our leaders should invite them to do so (again).
⬭ My ballot will not take one semi-automatic weapon out of the hands of a disaffected white guy, nor will it reduce the number of disaffected white guys who want them.
So, is it not pointless for me to fill in all those ovals? Not necessarily. I have got to believe that voting for rational people and rational solutions is better than voting for demagogues and dogma. That is the battle I am joining by completing and turning in my ballot. I only wish that I could ensure others like me would do the same, in overwhelming numbers.
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Speaking of contests, may I remind my readers of the special 10th Anniversary Giveaway that I announced here last week (see this post). I know I’m not Publisher’s Clearinghouse, but I am a bit surprised at the limited response so far. I figure there could be a number of factors at work here: (1) the subscriber notification email may have been labeled as spam; (2) this site has fewer readers than I thought; (3) the note cards are not appealing enough, even if they are free; (4) some readers are choosing not to enter, to allow others to win.
Well, if you haven’t entered, all I can do is encourage you to reconsider. To enter, please visit the post titled 10th Anniversary Giveaway and follow the instructions there. Thanks.
I can’t hold it in any longer. I’m bursting at the seams with frustration at what passes for the news on the evening news programs (save PBS). Tonight, I had to leave the room to escape the melodrama being acted out on The CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell. Every evening, we are told there is “breaking news.” And every evening, it sounds like the world is about to end, based on the tone of the reporters’ voices.
This, of course, was before news turned into entertainment.
CBS News was the last holdout (again, excepting PBS) in over-dramatizing its reporting. ABC and NBC had adopted the flashy-graphic, tabloid-inspired “what you should be afraid of now” formula years before CBS succumbed. But the fait is now accompli. Uncle Walter gets another shovel of dirt tossed on his journalistic grave every time Norah begins a story by breathlessly telling her viewers, “This is important!”
And don’t get me started on how each CBS broadcast begins with 80 seconds (minimum) of fluff designed to tease and fear-heighten the upcoming news content. That’s 80 seconds of program airtime that is not devoted to news reports — precious airtime that has already been squeezed to its profit-making minimum by prescription drug ads.
How I miss Walter! The news today may not be fake but it is certainly too Shakespearean and, like everything else, targeted to reach the lowest common advertising denominator.