The phrase ‘much ado about nothing’ is of course from William Shakespeare’s play – Much Ado About Nothing. It appears that this phrase greatly applies to the political and social issues of the day and their related news coverage. Think about many of the headlines covering news stories today in North America and abroad. Journalists appear to be more interested in the on-going saga of the current American President and a well-known porn star, a rather irrelevant royal marriage in the U.K., the Canadian Prime Minister’s ridiculous sartorial choices while in India, and the usual absurdities displayed during the recent NRA’s national convention. With so many other much more important issues dominating the international and national scenes, you’d think that news outlets would have much better things to do than sensationalize such negligible events. Especially since these events don’t really change anything in a meaningful way.
If anything, such events simply provide good fodder for late night comics, talk-show hosts, the tabloids and bloggers. The problem is that the average North American relies on these outlets for the majority of their news — fake or otherwise. The real important stuff is conveniently hidden away in the back pages of print media. The problem is also that people selectively choose what they want to hear or read, particularly if it supports their views — referred to as ‘positive reaffirmation’ by psychologists. Moreover, getting caught up in the banalities of insignificant current events is just another form of escapism and avoidance of the real issues.
Instead, we consciously allow our leaders — political, religious or otherwise — to tell us what we should believe. No questions asked. Opposite positions and arguments are conveniently provided for us to regurgitate upon command. As for many of the issues being debated, we’ve been over the same points time and time again. Maybe this is why there is so much desire for distraction and comic relief in our societies. Such is the bread and butter for T.V. and radio talk-show hosts. Just try watching and listening to their ramblings and that of their faithful listeners and you’ll appreciate the points that I’m making.
Let’s not complicate matters. Just give us the simple explanations. Even better, just entertain us. After all, Rome’s emperor, the decadent and unpopular Nero, was said to have “fiddled while Rome burned”, although fiddles actually didn’t exist in that era.
FROLITICKS 