Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Clowns in the News

Increasingly I shy away from the News.

At ten o'clock most nights Sarah and I watch local news because the newscasters are so damn funny ... not in a humorous way ... but like Saturday Night Live characters who actually believe they are serious newscasters.

They smile and crack jokes delivering bad news.

It's hilarious!

They are celebrities who get paid to be buffoons!

News junkies apparently love bad news which is why FOX News exists.

It's for those who want to mainstream bad news without jokes but ... with sexy girls showing leg and men with pecks in suits.

On Social Media everyone seems to argue about the news ... what's right or wrong? ... Who's right or wrong? ... they get mad and make it personal ... and they get mean about it ... unleash personal attacks ... which leaves me sad ... Civil discourse is a thing of the past ... and I've had way too much sad in my life already.

Of course it makes me think about Soren Kierkegaard who once told this story.

It happened that a fire broke out backstage in a theater.

The clown came out to inform the public.

They thought he was joking, laughed and applauded.

He repeats there's a fire and everyone should get the Hell out before they get caught up in it.

They laugh even louder.

He screams, "There is a freaking fire!"

They fall on the floor laughing.

So Kierkegaard concludes, "I think the world will come to an end amid general applause from all the wits who believes it's a joke."

It's why I shy away from the News, politicians, mainstream religious leaders and the American Country Music Awards.

They're just blowing smoke and acting like clowns.

What is real, Kierkegaard says, is what is in front of you ... take a "Leap of Faith" and believe in the simplicity of what you have ... and not what they tell you.

It's why I stayed in bed with Sarah this morning rather than get up and listen to the News.