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What is galling is that for a democracy to function properly it requires an informed populace. Our body politic lives and breathes by being informed about the choices we have to make in the voting booth.
Increasingly, our media is dumbing down. It is very difficult to find context and back story. You cannot expect to get the story or even begin to search for "truth" in something called Headline News for example.
We are bombarded with "news" stories that have little to no relevance to our personal lives. We worry about Lacie Peterson's fate. Why? Do you know her? Does her death have some relevance to your day to day life? At best this story deserves some local coverage and at the most an in depth magazine style story.
While I was in LA recently I was amazed at the "news". Pure fluff. CNNs coverage of the war in Iraq. Total surface coverage. Very little to no critical analysis.
Infomercials and using anchors to sell drugs are just the tasteless and visible tip of the iceberg.
What is needed, and desperately needed, is a universal media literacy campaign. It should be a major component of every child's education. We should all learn how to critically "read" the media we consume.
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"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke
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