February 1, 2008

Civility

“If it bleeds, it leads.” So goes a disparaging critique of the media in our time. It’s probably true more often than not. But it’s not all their fault. Too many of us are the ones who let them know what we’ll read, and what we won’t read. After all, they have to buy groceries, too.

Now that the contenders on one “side of the aisle” are down to two, last night’s “debate” seemed all sweetness and light compared with previous sessions and especially compared with night before last. Maybe it was the proximity of Valentine’s Day. Maybe it was somebody finally realizing there are some issues out there other than the Reagan-dropping personality cults that we’re tired of witnessing.

Trouble is, last night apparently didn’t bleed enough. As the evening moved along, some of the media’s interrogators seemed not all that content with attending to the intelligent, though differing opinions on what we electors care about most — economy, war, health, education, environment, and all that jazz.

So the questioners obviously started aiming at juicing up the adrenaline here and there until finally the audience starting booing. When they did, the press cooled it. It was refreshing. We got to listen to and to pay attention to something else beside ratings anxiety.

Non-seq (maybe): Being a parson and all, I simply can’t resist the thought that maybe there’s a message here for us churchers: Even if the pulpit’s so often unbearably six-feet above contradiction, and our courtship with the so-called Other World is getting so maudlin, some civility in hopes the message might get through might be more than welcome.