The stench and foul air of what media has become [View all]

[moniss]

was foreseen by the brilliant writer Paddy Chayefsky when he wrote "Network". We are reminded about media and people when we watch "Network" over and over. The reminder also comes from the incredibly convincing portrayal by William Holden of a basically decent person, seduced by it all for awhile, and then realizing the awful, empty thing it really was. So as Holden, in one of the greatest movie scenes, confronts his seduction and breaks away and says he's "going back" to his wife if she will have him then perhaps we who experienced a time before "cable news", and those who heard of it, can go back to something we left somewhere along the way.

Is it Murrow and Cronkite we want or something else or do we even know? We may be uncertain about exact details of what to go to and how to get there but we are clear in understanding that what we have now is literally killing us and destroying society and democracy. Perhaps we can get to something that gives us real facts and truth and leaves the "analysis" for us to make for ourselves. Just imagine how it might be to not have the majority of the viewing time taken with people telling us "what it all means" and implying how we should think. "Just the facts ma'am" might be simple but at least it's about truth and not "alternative facts" which is simply a propagandist term for pure BS and something for talking heads to spin. We do not need to be led by the nose.

In the end we must see that in a polluted atmosphere demanding fresh air to breathe is not a futile harkening for nostalgia sake. It is absolutely vital for us to stay alive.