"Something has got to be done!"  Those were the conclusive words of my brother, Troy, as he spoke on the subject of the national debt this morning on his radio program, and the amount of fraud being perpetrated in the United States.  Yet, apart from the exclamation, any type of plan to get the job done to eradicate the national debt, fraud, deceit, immorality, and all the other character flaws that have come to be accepted as normal in America, was not forthcoming.  Why?  One would have to ask him.  

I will posit, though, that one reason is due to the fragmented nature of the information be offered which hinted at the problems.  In other words, we're not getting "the rest of the story" when it comes to what appears to be a dire situation.  Hence we, as a country, are unable to provide a coherent solution to correct the problems.  "What can we do?" was a frequent question asked, which is normal given the lack of a complete picture of just what the problem is.  Ever try to fix a computer or leaky faucet with just a screwdriver?

You might be saying, "Wait a minute.  What do you mean we're getting fragmented information?  Didn't you just say that you heard your brother talking about all the fraud?"  Absolutely.  But, just stop and think about it.  Where did he get his information from?  Another news source; and in this case it was from the TV show 60 Minutes.  

In fact, where he gets his information is typical of where all those doing talk radio or television get their information, whether it is Limbaugh, Hannity, or Beck, and that is from some news source, most of which is heavily edited or slanted, as well as packaged to make it interesting or entertaining to the listener or viewer.  Therefore, it is fragmented with the express goal of not providing a meaningful solution, but merely to provide higher ratings to draw in revenue.  That is not to say that the information is necessarily untrue or inaccurate, but simply that the bigger picture is missing.

It is because of the fragmented, entertainment driven society in which we live that nothing is going to get done to correct any kind of pervasive fiscal fraud and political deceit, until we realize that we are doing as Neil Postman aptly titled his book years ago, Amusing Ourselves to Death.  We're going to keep right on spending ourselves into oblivion, deceiving ourselves until we're numb, cheating ourselves of the best things in life, and sacrificing our liberties to those who know that an overdose of amusement eventuates in mindless servitude and death.  And in this case, death of a country.

Yes, something needs to be done, but merely talking about the symptoms in a fragmented fashion without addressing the cause of the problems is not going to fix anything.  All that is going to do is perpetuate more frustration, hopelessness, and despair, as well as mislead people into believing that talking about the symptoms in an incoherent setting is going to resolve the issues.  

What needs to be done, at least on the radio and TV level, is for people to start treating radio and television for the amusement media that they are.  Radio and television are not designed for serious intellectual thought, they never have been, nor can they ever be.  They are for amusement, and amusement by its very nature is intended to prevent logical, coherent, meaningful thought.  Moreover, if something is not amusing on television or radio, then you may rest assure that it will not be long until the mundane program is pulled or canceled.

Then when it is concluded that radio and television are for entertainment, particularly when it comes to addressing societal ills, then they need to be shut off.  There are much better sources available to address whatever it is that is prompting a citizen to act than sitting around listening to 45 second sound bites which give only partial contexts that are often unrelated, whether it is between stories or the commercials which fund the incoherency.