DU, MSM, and 'hot' stories....got a problem with it? Discuss....

[The Straight Story]

Yeah, there are >1000 more important stories in the world than Imus, Anna Nicole Smith, Steve Irwin, How big Edwards' house is, etc and so on.

I could spend a little time on google and google/unclesam finding stories more worth our time than the hot topics of the day.

Hell, I could go to govexec.com or usnpl.com and find a plethora of news items I would prefer to hear your input on than those mentioned above.

In the end though I recognize a few things worth mentioning:
1. Lucille Ball. When she died, I actually cried. Never met her mind you. But she was in my home for many years. She kinda looked like my mom and acted like her a lot. She was familiar to me - and MANY others because we knew her. Without really knowing her. I also cried when Paul Lynde died. I did meet him once, and while I was but a young kid I still remember him. I met Skipper from Gilligan's Island as well, and was devastated when he passed on. WHY? Again, because I shared a part of my life with them. So did many others here in the US.

People like this, our entertainers, make news because so many of them have been invited into our homes through various mediums - tv, radio talk shows, music.

2. When folks connect on a subject, they like to discuss it with their friends. And what better place to do so than here?

DU is my 'cheers', my bar. I come here to hang out with my friends, when I have the time, and we talk about life, the news of the day, and how we want things to change. We talk about those we have lost, our issues, our worries, our fears, and so on. And while there is no beer to fund the bar tender and his bar, we can, and do, slap down some cash to keep the bar running so that we can share this place together and talk about the things on our minds.

-----

We got hot stories in the press, and hot stories in our lives we want to talk about. It can get annoying, to be sure, after the 500th thread on the same topic - but we can choose to ignore them. Or we can choose to listen to fellow patrons and get their take. We all come from different lives, and have different takes on things.

Oddly enough, it reminds me of a (hold your noses) a Toby Keith song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn6YUI3NS6o

There ARE more important stories to the world at large - but there is still a part of these MSM stories that we relate to. So have a drink, talk it out, and know that in the end - when the chips are down and the big stories come around - we will pay attention to them and get out the vote, send flowers, and email the shit out of them folks out in DC we put into office.

I got your back. You got mine. And sometimes we just got to indulge ourselves in the smaller things because we all relate on a personal level.

We fought the big battles. We got our folks in office. We are working on the next election. But not everyday is about politics. Some days it is about the goofy things in life :)

Have a beer with me, and let's talk about the lighter things for a few.

[blondeatlast]

1. I'll have a 'tini, two olives, please?

DU is a giant cocktail party full of really smart, political wonkish people like I believe I am. That's how I look at it. It's entertainment first and foremost, but damn if I haven't gotten some excellent information and fresh perspectives on things I would never have encountered elsewhere.

About 1 1/2 years ago, I went through several major traumas at once. I didn't post, but I read here voraciously and it kept me freaking sane.

I can discuss Darfur and Paris Hilton and keep their import straight in my own head.

I love that I can vehemently disagree with a poster on spirituality and find that same poster a huge ally on 7 different issues of importance to me.

I love it for what's wrong, and for what's right.

Fifty seven threads about Imus? I'll use my scroll wheel, thank you very much.

[The Straight Story]

2. Indeed it is a cocktail party of people

well said. I'll have a drink to that :)

[maddezmom]

3. the ignore thread feature is my friend

I think vanity posts and tabloid media discussion belong in the lounge, but if they don't get moved I just ignore them. That's the beauty of DU features. :hi:

[silverojo]

4. The "minor" stories often have a big impact on people

My mom and aunt used to watch Anna Nicole's show, so they were interested in the battle over her baby. Then, when Anna Nicole died, they were shocked.

My aunt died suddenly, four days after Anna Nicole did. Just an hour before my aunt died, she and my mother were spending time together, watching the TV coverage about the cover girl's death.

Now, my mother avidly watches news stories about the Anna Nicole saga, because it's a way she can keep connected with her sister...this was the last thing the two of them were doing together, before my aunt went to take a nap, and never woke up.

Both my mother and aunt are/were very politically aware, lifelong Democrats. My aunt's final vote helped oust J.D. Hayworth from office. So it's not like either of them were vapid people who followed Hollywood stories because they didn't care about what was important in life. Quite the reverse--they needed relief from the horror stories coming out of the White House.

When people complain about the coverage of such stories (Britney, etc.), they need to stop and think that there's a reason the media covers them so much. It's not a conspiracy to cast a smoke screen over the issues...the public is *interested*, these stories boost ratings, therefore they'll get more coverage. It's all about the money...and about giving the public what they want.

My mother is a Democrat from head to toe, and very outspoken about her political beliefs. Of course, she (like most people watching the Anna Nicole story unfold) knows that there are more important stories in the world. But if people like her want to unplug from the larger issues for a while, it's pretty unfair for these people to be criticized over their choice to back away from political reality now and then.

The whole Anna Nicole thing bores me to tears, but if watching this story gives my mom a little relief--and makes her feel a little closer to her departed sister--I'm not going to complain.

[blondeatlast]

5. That's just it--on a forum as large as this, even the most minor stories are bound

to touch someone's life. We have hobbies, we have interests, we care about the world--and none of those is exclusive to the other.

We are given the gift of passion for a reason.

And a sadly belated thank you to your aunt from a fellow Arizonan who is still stuck with Shadegg! :patriot: