Pondering Paula

Well friends, I’ve been pondering again.  That always leads to trouble.  Lots of big questions and political and moral issues are occupying the news on radio, the internet and, I imagine, on television.  These are issues where compromise doesn’t seem to be possible.  Sides are taken and firmly held because each side claims moral superiority.  There doesn’t even seem to be room for a rational “agree to disagree” stance because the politicization of all of these things is in full swing and political action is going on that will bring legislation that one side or the other will be morally obliged to resist.

It’s a complicated world.  But most every one of these big questions boils down to the belief systems held by each of the opposing sides.  Neither side can accept that they might hold a moral tenet that is without foundation, or built on a weaker foundation, which could lead to some compromising.  And maybe there shouldn’t be any compromise.  Perhaps one side or the other does have the moral upper hand.  Politically, in our republic, questions are typically settled with the ballot.  We vote, one side prevails, and we get on with our business.  But in these complex times it doesn’t seem to be so easy, nor is the system working.  There seems to be a deep underlying anger worming around the guts of our population.  It doesn’t matter which side we look at, people are pissed off.

When one side objects to a particular piece of legislation being proposed then those folks that have the upper hand angrily dismiss the objections as morally corrupt or logically flawed.  At the same time the objectors are accusing their opponents of the same sins.  And these attitudes show up beyond the realm of politics.  The polarization leaks down to attitudes about such silliness as how one or another celebrity is acting in public or even in private. 

I haven’t named issues or pseudo-issues because it doesn’t matter what they are.  The polarization exists and is encouraged by the people who would profit from an agitated public.  It seems that the more public angst that is generated the more people look to media sources for a constant feed of information.  The media sources are, of course, dependent on an audience so that products can be advertised and money from advertisers will flow into media coffers.

But it’s all driven, this penchant for controversy, by more than commercial media corporations.  It is also driven by social networking platforms.  And it is driven, ultimately, by true believers on both sides of every issue.  We relish confrontation.  We love announcing our superior moral positions.  We enjoy the attention we get when people agree with us publically and we might even enjoy more the attention of those who disagree.  Of course there are plenty of folks who either ignore every issue or, worse, have knee-jerk pre-programmed reactions whenever a question arises.

Looking at two sides of a moral issue is very difficult.  I’m very susceptible to the knee-jerk reaction.  My education, my work background, my age, my religious training, my reading and many other things enter into how I see an issue.  I’m often quick to make a judgment and slow to back off and reconsider.  If I was more like Mr. Spock on Star Trek it would be easier.  I would look at the facts, look at the logic and then weigh it all to make a decision.  But that method ignores one very basic and very human characteristic, and that is the type of belief system that is ground into my whole being.

Usually, if given some time, I can back up and look at things rationally.  I can read and try to understand both sides of an issue.  Let me cite an example at the risk of offending some of you good people.  The case of Paula Deen, celebrity chef and salesperson, has been all over the news for the past week or two.  She apparently used racist language in a private business setting and is being sued for those actions.  Fine.  In a normal world a trial might occur or a settlement might be made and the matter would be finished.  If some of Ms. Deen’s employers wished to sever their connection with the lady then that would be a matter between those parties.  But in our world the media found this case to be really sensational.  The reporting got cranked up and that brought out the professional opinionators.  Politicians got involved, other celebrities came out for or against, Facebook was full of comments and shares and links (some truly hae filled), until finally the lady was dropped from cable TV and many of her lucrative endorsements were terminated.  It wasn’t truly a reflection of public opinion.  I’ll bet if a proper survey was conducted the majority of our population would not give a hoot about old Paula.  Those that do care could easily stop buying her junk and change the channel when her show pops up.  Simple.  So as I thought about the “Paula Deen Issue” I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t really an important issue after all. 

Another celebrity know it all, Martha Stewart, was found guilty of insider stock trading and some kind of fraud.  She went to jail and paid fines and court costs.  But her sins must have been less egregious than Paula’s use of the “n” word because now that she’s out of the slammer Martha has rebuilt her little merchandising machine and is back in the public eye as an expert in everything having to do with homemaking.  Fancy that. 

The point I’m making, as I’m sure you understand, is that the response to issues is completely upside down these days.  The economy, in spite of miniscule advances in measurement numbers, is still doing poorly.  Millions of people are out of work.  Millions more won’t work because they are being housed and fed by various government programs.  The number of folks using food stamps is a huge percentage of the population.  This can’t be a healthy situation.  Real jobs are diminishing.  Thirty percent of young adults graduate from college and move back home with mom and dad.  We are so distracted by made up issues that the real important stuff gets no mention at all.  Divisiveness is promoted and promulgated.  The problems that affect us all, and I mean in a real way that is much more important than the hateful language by a TV cook, are not truly understood or publicized.  Something is crumbling and I fear that it is the guideline that was once being used to keep our country on a path towards real progress and civilization.

I apologize for the pessimism.  Try to have a fine day in spite of it all.