Help, Help! Hurricane Ike Has Stolen My TV!
I was going to write this elaborate rant about all of this Ike coverage, but I can't even find the will to rail against the modern media anymore; because if I ranted about everything I thought was ridiculous and excessive in the media, I'd never be able to leave the computer.
The People need information. Sometimes this can raise public awareness, root out injustice, and even save people's lives. But I don't think all this Hurricane Ike coverage is doing any of that. This round-the-clock coverage of the Hurricanes is just--STILL--an effort by the networks to cover their asses for not paying enough attention to Katrina. Nobody wants to be "last man to the party" when the next Big One hits.
Well, it looks like the locusts will get their wish. Ike looks like it's going to be huge and going to hit the Houston area very hard. But will all of this "up-to-the-minute" coverage--like the all-important multi-colored, swirling blob; the endless stories about those who are "Stayin' put, by God!"--will any of this help Texans recover from the hurricane? Will it help keep the area safe and clean while people move back in? I doubt it. Because once the rest of the country yawns and says, "Wow. Some storm!" they'll forget about it.
If all the money spent sending reporters to stand on windy beaches were somehow diverted to evacuation and security, clean-up and rebuilding, now that would be useful. It probably wouldn't even be a story anymore! The storm comes, people flee, the storm leaves, people come back and clean up, try and get back to their normal lives.
Imagine that...if we could actually organize and prepare for these kinds of things, and oversee some kind of effective response, instead of wasting our time hovering over every undulation, every fraction of an inch of movement on a TV screen. But nah, that would take too much energy, too much foresight, too much cooperation. We'd rather watch...
No, I'm not abandoning my weekend plans to go to Houston and help clean up. I doubt you are either. The most I will suffer from Ike is that I won't be able to play golf this weekend.
So, what am I saying? I'm just an idealist, frustrated with modern society and even more frustrated with the fact I can't do anything about it other than write this blog which very few people read. This turned into a rant against the media after all. Sorry...
The People need information. Sometimes this can raise public awareness, root out injustice, and even save people's lives. But I don't think all this Hurricane Ike coverage is doing any of that. This round-the-clock coverage of the Hurricanes is just--STILL--an effort by the networks to cover their asses for not paying enough attention to Katrina. Nobody wants to be "last man to the party" when the next Big One hits.
Well, it looks like the locusts will get their wish. Ike looks like it's going to be huge and going to hit the Houston area very hard. But will all of this "up-to-the-minute" coverage--like the all-important multi-colored, swirling blob; the endless stories about those who are "Stayin' put, by God!"--will any of this help Texans recover from the hurricane? Will it help keep the area safe and clean while people move back in? I doubt it. Because once the rest of the country yawns and says, "Wow. Some storm!" they'll forget about it.
If all the money spent sending reporters to stand on windy beaches were somehow diverted to evacuation and security, clean-up and rebuilding, now that would be useful. It probably wouldn't even be a story anymore! The storm comes, people flee, the storm leaves, people come back and clean up, try and get back to their normal lives.
Imagine that...if we could actually organize and prepare for these kinds of things, and oversee some kind of effective response, instead of wasting our time hovering over every undulation, every fraction of an inch of movement on a TV screen. But nah, that would take too much energy, too much foresight, too much cooperation. We'd rather watch...
No, I'm not abandoning my weekend plans to go to Houston and help clean up. I doubt you are either. The most I will suffer from Ike is that I won't be able to play golf this weekend.
So, what am I saying? I'm just an idealist, frustrated with modern society and even more frustrated with the fact I can't do anything about it other than write this blog which very few people read. This turned into a rant against the media after all. Sorry...
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