Jan. 17, 2005 - 19:24 MST

THE WONDERING JEW

Civil Discourse ?

I guess it was when I noticed that my mode of watching serious TV was me shouting at the people on TV who were abusing all polite actions that make a roadmap of possible profitable communication. Profitable in the sense that each side has a chance to air its opinions, in hopes of getting their point of view across to the other side, that I quit watching TV.

Cokie and Steven V. Roberts of United Feature Syndicate have a column in the Rocky Mountain News today concerning that very thing. In part:

TV too often delivers a debased view of politics

"Somehow, sanity has broken out on cable television."

"Comedian Jon Stewart went on CNN's Crossfire last year and denounced the show as "partisan hackery" that was "hurting America." And now Jonathan Klein, the new head of CNN, has gone Stewart one better. He axed Crossfire

last week, explaining that, "People screaming at each other adds a lot of heat, but not much light" to the TV news landscape."

We agree completely that the trend toward shout-and-snarl is, indeed,"hurting America." Like so many shows, from Hannity & Colmes to The McLaughlin Group to The O'Reilly Factor, Crossfire has become sterile and stultifying."

"The hosts -- conservatives Tucker Carlson and Robert Novak, and liberals Paul Begala and James Carville -- are reasonable and interesting people off the air. But once the camera goes on, their only role is to repeat partisan talking points as loudly and as often as possible."

"It would be one thing if these shows were simply boring and uninformative, but they're worse than that -- they're deceptive and dishonest. They exaggerate differences to create conflict."

It does not have to be this way." Steve spent several years debating Carlson every Sunday on CNN's Late Edition. But they respected each other's views, and freely admitted when the other made a good point. Cokie had the same relationship with George Will and Sam Donaldson on ABC's This Week. The difference here is between analysis and advocacy. Analysis, what we did with Tucker and George and Sam on Sunday mornings, is about defining differences while also illuminating areas of agreement. Advocacy is simply about promoting a political or ideological agenda."

"One of the great powers journalists have is choosing to whom we give our microphones, and in most cases producers reach for the loudest, shrillest politicians they can find. Moderates in both parties are disenfranchised on the American airwaves today. In fact, they're practically invisible."

"As a result, Americans often receive, through the broadcast media, a debased and distorted picture of the political world that's all black-and-white, with no shades of gray. And the notion that producers are simply delivering what the public demands is flat-out dishonest."

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My opinions go here:

My shouts at the screen were in one way or another demands that they quit interrupting each other. Geez, we never allowed our kids to do things like that even when they were tots. The panel shows were as bad as the professional wrestling matches wherein people -- both spectators or the pros or both grab folding chairs or whatever is at hand and try to beat someone to death. Whether staged and punches pulled, it still caters to the spectator who has the philosophy of, "All that blood and guts and here am I without a spoon, but I'm gonna look my fill."

I have my opinions and put them forth, but thank God I am not shouting louder than someone else who is trying to say something too.

What is going on today reminds me of some history I once read wherein it said, "A lie repeated often will soon become accepted as truth." And that is what it looks like to me today, lies repeated with great noise and overemphasis again and again -- trying to be over and above the lies coming from the other side.

And our networks seem to be hosting verbal carnage.

Big thing with me is, "What are we teaching our young ones about Civil Discourse ? . . . . . . . . . . . .

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