10 Reasons to Stop Listening to ALL Talk Radio in America

I think I'm ready to stop listening to the so-called "marketplace of ideas" that passes for political Talk Radio in America.  I am both disheartened that I have to say it, and elated that I finally see the truth.

The truth is NOBODY HAS ANYTHING TO SAY that's worth hearing.  Both sides of an issue wrap themselves in ideological hides that mesmerize themselves into not having to think, all the while berating the other side for doing the same thing.

There are only two arguments.  One is "I'm right, and You're an idiot" and the other "They're wrong, and I'm right."  Furthermore, the only thing they both say about the other that's true has to do with blindly following the marching orders of the "leading voices" for their sides.  Both sides often refer to this as somebody drinking the Kool-Aid as he/she parrots a talking point or two.

The Voices of talk radio often get paid exorbitant sums of money to foam at the mouth, insult callers and public figures, and do a variety of schtick that gets listeners to come back for more, but seldom does one hear a concerted effort to present a balanced forum of competing ideas, or a well-researched thesis laid out for audience edification. It's simply an entertainment model masquerading as political discourse.

No, my fellow Americans, we are being played.  And here are some of my suggestions (pet peeves) about the public forum that I hope will cause others to rethink a little some of the premises on which they base their hide-bound thinking:

1. Stop calling the Government of the United States of America, or of any of its states, or any of its municipalities "Them" or "They."  The American Experiment begun in 1776 is about We the People - in other words, "Government" in this country always refers to "US" not "Them"!  Those who administer OUR government work for US.  We don't give them our power.  We give them responsibility to uphold the workings of this nation, its states and its municipalities.  This is Citizen Government, folks, smallest to broadest.



2. Stop imbuing representatives in our governments with special honors, special prestige, and special privileges.  In our Citizen Government, they are OUR representatives and are worth no more than any of the rest of us.  We don't elect kings and queens, dukes and duchesses, lords and ladies.  That would be totally un-American!  Ask George Washington, who refused the title of Your Majesty.



3. Hold our representatives - ALL representatives in our governments - to excellence at all times.  Nobody should ever be allowed to get away with violating OUR trust.  Penalties should be swift and certain, and not subject to pardon (unless later evidence indicates innocence).



4. Recognize that ALL failures of OUR government are ultimately OUR fault and responsibility.  If WE elect them and then turn our backs on them, so that the unscrupulous or the incompetent do damage while we're not paying attention, then it's just as much our fault for letting them in, and for not keeping an eye on them.  Yes, the representative will pay the price, but so must we who put him/her there in the first place.



5. Republicans (oh I'm sorry, I should have said "Conservatives" - apparently nobody wants to be called "Republicans" anymore), get off the "lower taxes" path.  You had your chance, and that road has merely run us out into the wilderness again.  Coupling that with less regulation has brought us closer to an anarchic law of the jungle mentality than anything else has in the last century, and it's time to point ourselves once again toward civilization.  For reasons to change your thinking, re-read #1, #2, #3, and #4 above.



6. Democrats (oh I'm sorry, I should have said "Progressives" - apparently nobody wants to be called "Democrats" anymore), stop trying to answer every social ill with a facile solution that acts merely as a short-term band-aid instead of an integrated bottom-up solution to one of society's structural defects.  It's too easy to feel good about a cause by throwing money at it, but it's even better when the poor conditions that merit the cause are permanently improved through deeper understanding of ALL the ramifications of the problem.



7. Democrats and Republicans and any other party members, abandon your parties now and leave their ideological bonds and shackles behind.  They are the biggest contributors to this waste of time currently passing for political discourse and have brought little else other than strife and discord, all the while amassing absurd amounts of money that could easily be put to better use elsewhere.



8. Stop dividing the world into Left-Wing and Right-Wing, Conservative/Liberal, etc.  It obscures the possibility for responsibly pragmatic solutions to issues.  If you haven't noticed, they don't mean anything anymore anyway.



9. Stop claiming that we live by the "rules" of the "free" market and capitalism.  Look around.  Our society today resembles something far closer to feudalism than capitalism.  One merely has to look at the types of info-mercials playing on nights and weekends (a creative but indicative measure of our economic and marketing sensibilities) to see which "isms" are really at work in this country.  The primary ones to be seen, of course, are consumerism and commercialism.  This is seen in all the schlock made in other countries that is marketed. 
   This is followed by feudalism with capitalism, at last, bringing up the rear.  Here we see all the ads for buying real estate, especially foreclosures, to become landlords.  (Ah, yes, that "ownership society" thing...)
   In the last category, we see the actual capitalists demonstrating innovative products that are meant to be the best in their class, or unique.  If only we could recapture the concept of excellence in everything we do, regardless of whether it's a private, public, or personal enterprise.  Perhaps then we'd see the deficiencies in our political landscape more readily, and want to make them better.



10. Look to Nature and our universe for models that answer or predict an answer.  Nature does NOT respond to challenges with single solutions.  Nature answers each challenge with a broad spectrum of solutions, giving greater statistical odds that a sustainable solution will be uncovered in the mix. Nature takes a positive, proactive approach to challenges in order to remain balanced, usually coming up with workable solutions that create zero waste, accommodate predation on a local scale but limit it on a larger scale, and encourage biodiversity.  Humans have a lot to learn because our solutions generally generate too much waste, ravage on a grand scale, and encourage mono-cultures.  Furthermore, we often denigrate simplicity and elegant solutions in favor of complexity and clunkiness.

And I return full circle to point out that much of today's political discourse is so convoluted in its thinking, so insensitive in its motivations, and so destructive in its outcomes that it's no wonder human societies throughout the world are in such dire straits.  If Americans could not only think of our government as WE, but our world as WE, and never THEM, perhaps we could begin a process that will lead the planet to the next great age in human history--The Age of Unity; e pluribus unum on a comprehensive scale.