ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY THE SOMERS RECORD (05-09-19)
This month marks the fifth anniversary of the first time I wrote a piece for the Somers Record, and since that time I have written 260 columns, one each week without missing a week. I don't say this to pat myself on the back, but to pat you on yours. Reading supports writing, and writing means much more than itself. It means ideas, it means community, it means communication, it means democracy. My column by itself is so much silliness, I readily admit. But it's part of a forum that keeps an eye on things. And that forum is part of a larger culture of journalism. Real journalism, by people who stick their necks out in many different ways. People who take the time to check facts, verify sources and corroborate research. That's what it takes to make sure that nefarious people don't operate unchecked, no matter how high they rise in business and in government. Journalism is the link from the ranks of humanity to the top of the pyramid, and it's the only thing that can turn a pyramid upside down.
And that culture thrives because people want to know the truth, they want to know the answers to questions they didn't even know they should ask. It shouldn't be neglected and it shouldn't be taken for granted, because once in a while there's a politician who wants to drive around in a presidency with dark tinted windows- what could they possibly be doing in there? The press makes it their job to find out, they sniff around, and claw at the dirt, and when the facts are laid out clearly and substantively, the difference between fake news and false idols is stark. There might come a time when these institutions may need to be protected and propped up, and I hope that if that time comes people rise to the occasion willingly. We shouldn't expect people to work for free, and anytime you go on an internet site where information is free, it always either has an ulterior sales motive or is a bunch of crap. Remember when you got a free pen at the bank and you put it in your car for emergencies, and then an emergency came up and you tried to write something down with it after you screwed all its parts together, then threw it out the car window?
A newspaper, or however you get your news, is something you see every day, and over a period of time you decide for yourself if if you trust what comes out of it. If enough people trust it, that source becomes the antidote to knuckleheads who don't get their kids vaccinated, or think that you need an AK-47 to hunt deer, or believe that coal mining jobs are more important than preserving the finite resources of the Earth. It does disappoint me that newspapers and news sources make the decision to support individual political candidates, because I believe that it not only impugns their standard of impartiality but also ties them into broad ideologies embedded in the two-party system that casts impossibly wide nets on either side. I guess I know where to find a grain of salt if I need one.
Local news has probably been thought of as low priority at times, but people don't live nationally, they live locally. And whatever affects you where you live affects you most. And whatever happens nationally happens locally first. That's where grassroots take root, and I can tell you it certainly isn't underneath my lawn. I'd like to think that I contributed a laugh here and there over the last five years. I hope so, because I deducted the contribution on my taxes. I'd also like to think that I disseminated some information here and there, because that would imply that I once had some information.
Over the last five years I've attended so many more local functions and events than I would have otherwise, and that has been fun and rewarding. I hope I'll see you at some of them. I'm an extremely private person who publishes every waking moment of his life in the local paper. So I'd like to thank the Somers Record for allowing me to vent about all things, great and small. And to those who read my column, those who even enjoy it, and to those who have reached out to say hello and even meet in person, a sincere thank you. And those who don't read my column, now is the perfect time to gossip about them. I have something juicy, but I can't tell you right now, so call me.
This month marks the fifth anniversary of the first time I wrote a piece for the Somers Record, and since that time I have written 260 columns, one each week without missing a week. I don't say this to pat myself on the back, but to pat you on yours. Reading supports writing, and writing means much more than itself. It means ideas, it means community, it means communication, it means democracy. My column by itself is so much silliness, I readily admit. But it's part of a forum that keeps an eye on things. And that forum is part of a larger culture of journalism. Real journalism, by people who stick their necks out in many different ways. People who take the time to check facts, verify sources and corroborate research. That's what it takes to make sure that nefarious people don't operate unchecked, no matter how high they rise in business and in government. Journalism is the link from the ranks of humanity to the top of the pyramid, and it's the only thing that can turn a pyramid upside down.
And that culture thrives because people want to know the truth, they want to know the answers to questions they didn't even know they should ask. It shouldn't be neglected and it shouldn't be taken for granted, because once in a while there's a politician who wants to drive around in a presidency with dark tinted windows- what could they possibly be doing in there? The press makes it their job to find out, they sniff around, and claw at the dirt, and when the facts are laid out clearly and substantively, the difference between fake news and false idols is stark. There might come a time when these institutions may need to be protected and propped up, and I hope that if that time comes people rise to the occasion willingly. We shouldn't expect people to work for free, and anytime you go on an internet site where information is free, it always either has an ulterior sales motive or is a bunch of crap. Remember when you got a free pen at the bank and you put it in your car for emergencies, and then an emergency came up and you tried to write something down with it after you screwed all its parts together, then threw it out the car window?
A newspaper, or however you get your news, is something you see every day, and over a period of time you decide for yourself if if you trust what comes out of it. If enough people trust it, that source becomes the antidote to knuckleheads who don't get their kids vaccinated, or think that you need an AK-47 to hunt deer, or believe that coal mining jobs are more important than preserving the finite resources of the Earth. It does disappoint me that newspapers and news sources make the decision to support individual political candidates, because I believe that it not only impugns their standard of impartiality but also ties them into broad ideologies embedded in the two-party system that casts impossibly wide nets on either side. I guess I know where to find a grain of salt if I need one.
Local news has probably been thought of as low priority at times, but people don't live nationally, they live locally. And whatever affects you where you live affects you most. And whatever happens nationally happens locally first. That's where grassroots take root, and I can tell you it certainly isn't underneath my lawn. I'd like to think that I contributed a laugh here and there over the last five years. I hope so, because I deducted the contribution on my taxes. I'd also like to think that I disseminated some information here and there, because that would imply that I once had some information.
Over the last five years I've attended so many more local functions and events than I would have otherwise, and that has been fun and rewarding. I hope I'll see you at some of them. I'm an extremely private person who publishes every waking moment of his life in the local paper. So I'd like to thank the Somers Record for allowing me to vent about all things, great and small. And to those who read my column, those who even enjoy it, and to those who have reached out to say hello and even meet in person, a sincere thank you. And those who don't read my column, now is the perfect time to gossip about them. I have something juicy, but I can't tell you right now, so call me.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment