Over the past 50 years or so our national and local evening news format has made a big change. In the 60s, we were informed about the big story of that day, then moved to the sports news and the show finished with the weather. In today”s format, we are informed about the latest events of “A” war, maybe overshadowed from time to time by what a terrorist group or nut has done. Of course these may then be broken down with sub-categories such as number of killed and type of horrific methods used to kill folks, mostly innocent ones, the calls for retaliations, and never any facts as to the roots of such happenings in the first place. Then comes the body count of all our citizens and fellow men, who have been killed by “Guns”, usually at the hands of one nut case. Images of heartbroken relatives and friends, with the occasional passerby who may or may have not seen anything as they were driving to get a bitch tattoo on their behind.
The follow up for following days will be the rightness of the Second Amendment, and the NRA”s talking heads warning about any laws that might ban the ownership of a AK-47 submachine gun by our school children or mentally challenged citizens. It is usually enough time to offer more sub-categories, actual number killed, ages of victims, calls for action as to gun controls, usually only by those personally related to those killed or injured. None of this is acted upon by today”s government leadership from the top on down. No one wants to alienate a potential voter and maybe lose an election.
Then they have a program break for six or seven advertisement for the newest violent video game that is being promoted that week.
News for the day consists of what new laws and regulations that have been passed, most usually favoring the rich and powerful at the expense of the working class. Then a brief up-date on the stock market with most citizens not understanding that the better the stock market does, the worse the standard of living for the middle class will be.
Next comes the film clip of the latest daredevil”s feat, who offers their personal adrenaline rush for view, which may or may not end up costing the taxpayers to pay to rescue or foot the medical bills when something might have gone wrong.
For the sports highlights we may be told that business owners use taxpayer dollars to build their places of business, may now have the right to tell their employee”s how to live their personal lives on a threat of being fired, which may be spread to other types of business owner powers.
The weather section will focus mainly on the effects of mother nature on the east coast sector of the nation, and the cost to our citizens in the rate levels they will have to pay for insurance to cover the repairs to the upper classes beachside mansions.
Lastly, we are treated to the human interest story, the dog that can skateboard or the turkey that can do the meringue dance.
The point is, that something to do with guns seems to be in our daily shared media information, to a point we become impervious to just how undermining this issue is to our preserved daily lives and standards. Enough is enough.
Jim Hall, Clearlake Oaks
