Over-information & talking Heads

Literacy and over information can lead to the same result.  For example, we wonder at how an Imam can interpret something and issue a Fatwah, that has no real basis in their own written religious works.  Yet, we don’t bat an eye at how MSNBC, CNN, or Fox News, will listen to a press conference or speech, and give us their twist on things.  I know I’ve harped on this before, but most of us have day jobs.  We come home from work, and get a short snippet of a press conference, and then some commentator’s spin on what was said.  You can listen to these various networks, and wonder if they were participating in the same press conference.  This is why I no longer rely on the networks.  The best I can do is listen to them, and divide by two to get to the truth.  The other method is to look at the source.  Several times I’ve gone to the DOD page to listen to what Rear Admiral John Kirby really said, since I can count on the news media to screw it up.  Similarly, gangs and thugs like ISIL don’t check the source either.  Instead, thanks to the raging illiteracy in their part of the world, they only know what they are told.  So, some “Holy” man can tell them what to think, and because of their blind adherence to this bizarre sicko, they don’t bother to check the source of his rant.  How can we marvel at this, when some of us are doing it too?   I agree that some of us can’t help it.  We have day jobs, families, obligations, and there aren’t enough hours in the day to read through the massive amounts of information that are available to us.  Left with so little time, and so much information, we are relegated to relying on the talking head on the idiot box to sum it up for us.  Who is worse off?  Clearly they are, but we should still be aware that much of what we are hearing may not be the best, most accurate information.  Something to think about, since the last thing we as a society should ever want is someone doing our thinking for us.  Just for giggles, when you get a minute, check out other sources, take a look at what DOD really said, or maybe even cruise some other government websites for transcripts or footage.  You just might be really surprised that some moron that pontificates at you for an hour with four commercial breaks, just might have his head up his ass. ~ Michael S. Pauley