Nightly News…

If you never asked the question, how can you know the answer?

The ham is in the oven, the dogs fed, so I turned my attention to the dishes in the sink, with the news on the TV in the den. I was deep in thought, merely paying attention to the topics as they rolled by. The first report is on a special Hoarding Unit  formed in a large California city to deal with people whose obsession seems to now be a public threat. According to the reporter, 2-5% of the population has this mental imbalance;  there is now a medical term for living in filth. The public threat is when hoarders unintentionally set fire to their hovel, it tends to go up like a torch and emergency personnel have no chance to rescue either the hoarders or their neighbors if they are in an apartment complex.

The special unit goes in and cleans up the mess before disaster can strike. The featured “criminal” tonight was a wealthy psychiatrist who had been down-in the-dumps for about a year. The amount of trash, rotting food, and other such delicacies was truly impressive.   Newsflash! I don’t think this is a good sign for society overall, especially if 2-5% of us is living like that. Furthermore, why are we cleaning up after people at the public’s expense?

The next story didn’t interest me. I was barely listening to the advertising when this caught my attention,”May cause loss of hearing or sight. Stop taking if you have trouble swallowing.” Whoa, hold the phone! What exactly is this miracle drug relieving, that I would risk those sort of side effects??? And why are most of the commercials about drugs anyway? Is there one for Hoarding?

As I was drying my hands, a news segment came on highlighting several World War II era women. They  were being honored at the White House in recognition of Rosie the Riveter during the war. Vice President Biden fussed over them and then, OH Huge Surprise, President Obama came into the room.

All of this excitement was presided over by a vacuous news anchor from the morning show, who is embarrassingly, blatantly, being groomed to increase the ratings. As she gushed over one octogenarian who had “kissed the President on the lips!” I realized this was perhaps a moment in history. An elderly white woman kissed the black president on national television. This reporter, however, lacks the intelligence, empathy and talents of the pioneering women of broadcast news such as Barbara Walters and Diane Sawyer. How sad that we seem to be moving forward four steps and back six steps.

I snapped off the TV. I don’t want any part of the world spewing from that screen.