THE TYRANNY OF IGNORANCE

Remember when people on television or radio were thought of as people who were skilled at something, who had worked hard to reach that position and had some kind of talent that enabled them to do what they did while you sat at home and watched (or listened)? Well, those days are gone and probably gone for good.

The famous Kurt Vonnegut novella Harrison Bergeron envisioned a future society where people with exceptional talent and gifts were given artificial encumbrances and tortured into mediocrity so that no one could be given special privileges and, conversely, the substandard could not be made to feel substandard. The result, of course, was that society began to unravel and everyone was miserable. I know this feeling. I suspect you do too.

I don't want to sound like the grumpy old guy bemoaning how things have changed. (I have been accused of that.) There's nothing wrong with the democracy of everyone sharing ideas and talent online. And television now allows everyone the opportunity become a star if they have enough moxie, aren't completely hideous and are willing to make fools of themselves on a regular basis.

Still, when I flip past MTV and see that MySpace sensation Tila Tequila--lacking talent, presence or good looks--has a very popular TV show, I blanche. When I see cast members from "The Hills" popping up everywhere, I throw up in my mouth a little. Every time I stumble across Rush Limbaugh on the radio, booming out the latest archconservative talking points without the slightest smidgeon of truth behind many of them, it makes me angry. When someone posts a funny video of their cat on YouTube and gets an agent out of it while hard working unsigned screenwriters (frozen out even more now because of the WGA strike) don't even get a sniff at an opportunity, it makes me sad. One only wonders where it all will lead. Maybe mass media is undergoing an earthquake and when we sort out the rubble, the new landscape will be something better, bolder and brighter with true talent still given a chance to shine. Or maybe we'll all just get our Warholian fifteen minutes in a pop culture landscape that finally becomes completely irrelevant. I guess only time will tell.

Here's my pledge to only try to seek out the best in literature, pop culture and broadcast news. If we all do it, maybe we can hold the line and stand up for quality over quantity, merit over mediocrity and civility over crassness. There's nothing wrong with indulging in a little bit of junk food as long as there are still some fruits and veggies in the mix, you know what I mean?

My Thought of the Day

"Easy money is most surely fool's gold."

Coming soon: some more movie reviews and what the hell is wrong with the GOP presidential candidates?

Peace...