Despite my clarifying some political/social positions last week, Donald Vaxtor from Idaho called me a “typical Leftie.” But, just two emails later, Sylvia Nester from New Mexico accused me of being a “Right-wing ideologue.”

 

Many responses to last week’s posting split along Left/Right ideals. Nothing too radical, mind you. But, clearly striking by its absence was the MIDDLE.

 

I’ve said it before. Many people “read” what they understand. And, quite often, understanding is a function of preconceived notions. Actual words and their context lose meaning.

 

For example, Becky M from Maryland told me that I should start listening to Glenn Beck because he “gets” it. And, for her, along with a sizable viewing audience, he DOES.

 

However, it always pays to notice the correlation between people who agree with us and those that seem to “get it.”

 

This brings me to three additional factors that are ripping us apart at the seams: the twenty-four-hour news cycle, endless secular/religious hissy fits, and an increasing obsession with apathy and self-indulgence.

 

What does this have to do with the title of this piece: “The magic number is about 200?” A lot! I’ll get to it shortly.

 

But first, do we really need round-the-clock “news?” NO, we do NOT. They can’t fill two hours right now without creating news out of nothing. It’s mostly a lesson in creating controversy out of speculation.

 

In the beginning networks delivered news in the public interest. Their news divisions were overhead centers. Then, a few geniuses decided to move them to profit centers.

 

None of us likes to think of ourselves as the lowest common denominator. But, regardless, there is an aggregate lowest common denominator. And, it’s very low. Just examine the preponderance of present day garbage passing for legitimate TV programming.

 

Look at what has happened to the quality of general TV programming over the past forty-years. TV networks give us what we demand. We register our demands by what we watch. News programming is no exception.

 

 

News reporting is supposed to be objective in terms of who, what, when, where, how, and, if independently verifiable, why. NO speculation and NO opinion.

 

Newspaper editorials are NOT news. They express a newspaper’s official stance on specific issues. Opinion pieces are NOT news. Their writers are simply voicing their opinions.

 

Some opinions are intellectually thoughtful and noteworthy; at other times they’re pure tripe.

 

TV’s answer to viewer preferred news slants has been the proliferation of round-the-clock cable news programming. But, most of it is NOT news; it’s commentary.

 

If your political slant is Liberal, you’ll migrate to CNN and MSNBC. If you’re a Righty, you’ll watch Fox.

 

No matter, though. Even the short news segments at the top and bottom of each hour are, like their mainstream network counterparts, biased in terms of WHAT to report.

 

Aside from these short news clips, everything else is speculation—sometimes valid, sometimes not. But, as I stated above, whether or not any particular program host “gets it,” depends on the viewers’ preconceived notions.

 

The results? A national discourse consisting of an endless war of words that has virtually eliminated any chance for meaningful compromise. Both extremes, Conservative and Liberal, now blame each other for everything.

 

I have not forgotten about the magic number of 200! But first, let’s take a quick look at a couple of those never-ending secular/religious hissy fits.

 

Yep, nothing stirs up a hissy fit like religion. Legitimate scientists NEVER deny possibilities, including the existence of God. For me, however, there are too many different sets of rules, all of which claim to be the REAL set. It’s all so damn confusing!

 

With all the claimed omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence, you’d think God would be more precise. And, I’ll never understand why the human race feels so compelled to help HIM run the universe by enforcing their versions of HIS rules.

 

Ever more perplexing for me is why such a God would create imperfect beings, often physically and mentally beyond their control, and hold it all against them.

 

But, let’s assume there IS a God and He’s CHRISTIAN. “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.”

 

I seem to recall His son, Jesus, saying this when Roman officials questioned him about matters State versus God.

 

Gay marriage and abortion are two issues that seem to fit this admonition to a tee. If Caesar wishes to recognize a bilateral contract between two people pledging to live as a single unit, what does it have to do with God?

 

If the various religions choose NOT to recognize the unions and deny the participants membership in their sects, what does it have to do with Caesar?

 

In both cases, the answer is NOTHING. And for those who claim that homosexuality is “unnatural,” simply type the words homosexuality and nature into a Google search box.

 

Your result will be 2,890,000 web sites that will confirm that homosexuality abounds in nature. Nature, it seems, isn’t nearly as restrictive or judgmental as the Bible or Koran (or whatever its official spelling).

 

Abortion is a different story. Still, most—NOT ALL—abortion opponents agree that it’s justified under certain conditions. So, there is a basis for intellectual debate and reasonable compromise on the matter.

 

But, as it now stands, even with Roe v Wade, Caesar does not command any woman to undergo an abortion. He merely says that it’s legal to do so. If God disagrees, He should tell us… directly and unambiguously.

 

The problem with issuing orders from mountaintops and burning bushes is that there is no means of independent verification. And, the fact that HE always picks some disgruntled looking old man makes me even more suspicious.

 

Now, let’s talk about that magic number of about 200. The relationship between this number and our growing obsession with apathy and self-indulgence is eerie to say the least. Here’s why.

 

Pure Democracy, individuals deciding the issues has never worked very well. We can’t come to a meaningful consensus even in small groups. Forget about doing so in counts of millions. It amounts to chaos.

 

But, Representative Democracy (what we have) has always worked, but only to a point. In this form of government, the electorate doesn’t get to decide issues; it simply elects those who DO decide.

 

But here’s the catch. Eventually, we voters unearth a positively astounding revelation: we can vote ourselves money from the public till. All we need to do is elect those politicians who can deliver the most to us. And so it begins.

 

Eventually, the economic system falters and ultimately collapses. In the blink of an eye our political structure falls apart. A new imperative takes wing: a “fairer” economic system. A new political structure takes hold.

 

Throughout human history, powerful Democratic civilizations have averaged longevity of about 200-years—that MAGIC number. From their births to their burials, they’ve all followed a similar series of steps.

 

They went from oppression through a spiritual awakening to find the courage and determination to TAKE their freedom. The new- found liberty lead them to unprecedented prosperity and wealth.

 

Increasing wealth ultimately begot selfishness and smugness. Apathy followed in short order. Then they became dependent, which led them back to oppression under a dictator promising to “fix" everything.”

 

At 240, we’re past the magic number. But, are we living on borrowed time? Where do you place us on the continuum of “from dictatorship back to dictatorship?”

 

Your mileage may vary, but mine places us around the apathy mark. At my age, I won’t have to worry about it. How about you? Your children? Certainly you grandchildren? Think about it!

 

Joe Walther is a freelance writer and publisher of The True Facts. You may comment on his column by clicking here.