Couldn't really believe this when I saw it online the other day...on NPR, yet:
IS THERE A HOLIDAY TRADITION YOU REALLY HATE? TELL US!
For all the recent hype about journalists/the media being "the guardians," perhaps a piece like this more accurately portrays the mission of today's media. Even an outlet like NPR--which is supposed to be above the fray--has been poisoned by our national malaise...and so, has chosen to add a pinch of poison of their own.
Why not throw just a dash more hate and negativity out there...our gift to our listeners this holiday season!
Shame on you, NPR. Shame on ALL our media. We're supposed to be better than this.
If you would, with your last breath, strenuously object to being labeled, "enemies of the people..."
...don't act like it.
Good Lord and all that's holy. There isn't enough negative stuff in the world already. How about a tradition you love? Like all the years my Uncle Ken dressed up as Santa and did the rounds? He came to us last and visited Chris and Tim? It was great.
ReplyDeleteLisa, what are you talking about? I followed the link - there is nothing to merit such criticism. Some people don't like egg nog or mistletoe. Some people don't like to exchange presents. The post on NPR is from a producer seeking input from the audience for a piece they are thinking about doing about holiday traditions that some of us like a lot less than other people do. We don't do mistletoe in my house - that doesn't make me a hater of Christmas. If NPR ever actually does this piece, I am sure it will be inoffensive to all but the nutters. Aubri Juhasz is an intern at NPR who does not appear to me intentionally provoking or insulting anyone. You can love Christmas and find egg nog disgusting. You can love the spiritual experience of Christmas, but find the commercial aspect - the focus on shopping particularly - as something to be minimized or avoided altogether. People have different ways of celebrating the holiday, and there can be humor in some of it that could make for a light-hearted short piece for "All Things Considered". Why does this seem to you like an attack on Christmas by the "enemy of the people"?
ReplyDeleteNeil, a piece like this outside today's climate of hate and negativity would no doubt be as innocuous as you claim. Even funny. But I think, considering the current fashion to very publicly hate on anything and everything, this kind of piece just piles on in the interest of...well, pandering to the negative pop culture. It might be cute some other time, but in this day and age, it does nothing to pull us out of the toilet of negativity in which we are drowning with the help of our intrepid media. I think a piece like this is best left undone, and perhaps replaced with one asking for POSITIVE thoughts on the holidays or life in general. Wouldn't "What do you love...?" be so much more uplifting than "What do you hate...?" Why are we encouraged to find something we hate about everything?
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