Friday, June 11, 2010

The need to know

I have always been a policy wonk; long before there was such a descriptive word. I read every paragraph James Reston wrote, and corresponded daily, by letter, to the Eisenhower White House. (Oh, that Ike; he must have had his mind on Kay Summersby; he never responded to my letters. I thought-- and I still do-- that the better informed a citizenry, the better the country would become.

Wrong! wrong!

Now, I am ready to throw in the towel. Everyone has what they consider an informed position, and everyone feels a need to write about it. There are paid pundits and self-promoting folks who use Jack Cafferty, for instance, to get their two-cent worth of "wisdom" out to the public.

Have a certain point of view, and you will find a newspaper, a radio station, a news channel to give you access... and validity and visibility. We are drowning in words. (Believe me, I love words, I'm a writer.) Just don't use the words foolishly; use them so they are useful , not full of hot air.

I was not going to blog today, but this morning, as I tried to digest the Dispatch and the New York Times, I had my a -ha moment. I just don't give a damn. It seems incredible but no one is credible anymore.

I may spend my days idly watching soap operas, eating boxes of bon-bons as the world turns.

3 comments:

  1. Dear lovely, always-credible, Mrs. Greene: Your blog is a breath of fresh air in a world full of hot air! If you blog, I will read, and that comment is completely credible!

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  2. This is a fantastic entry, just wanted to tell you I completely agree with you on this

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  3. As long as there are thinking people like you in Columbus Ohio the country will be OK! I was feeling pretty discouraged this week after being in a Capitol Hill Worshop for three days where none of the distinguished guest speakers could provide any optimistic response to the question I posed to them - Whether they could see any way forward out of the current polarized anti-intellectual political environment. I'm from Columbus but have lived and worked in DC for over 30 years.
    I too enjoyed the NYer article on end of life medical care and have seen the benefts of hospice among family and friends. I especially appreciated your astute observation in another post about the conversation you and your family were able to have with your doctor which was decidedly not a death panel. What a shame that the loud voices succeed in removing that humane provision from the health care legislation.
    As long as you continue to write, I will be a faithful reader of your blog. I blog, as do my three adult children, without expectation of wide readership. As a result of your engaging inteview, it appears you have achieved the pinnacle of 21st century journalism - your blog has gone viral. Congratulations.

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