Are you angry yet?

by David Gresham, CEC President

How many times have you seen something on television, or heard something on the radio, or read something in a newspaper or magazine that really riled you? How many times, after getting such a strong message from the media and your conscience have you stepped forward to do something about it?

Every day we are bombarded with messages designed to stimulate our emotions. This is the way journalism works. One doesn’t buy a paper to read about happy news, one wants to know, with outrage, how our politicians are messing up, or how other governments are messing up, or how people (hopefully people other than ourselves) are messing up. We really don’t care to read that Mrs. Prudance’s cocker spaniel had puppies or that Becky Sue Bracewell got straight As on her report card.

With the proliferation of news magazines, news shows, and news radio, we are bombarded more and more with negativity. We are confronted by so much negativity, that it wouldn’t surprise me if the proliferation of Paxil prescriptions is directly linked to the over stimulation of our anxiety gland.

However there is a solution. The media isn’t changing their revenue-generating model anytime soon, so we can all stick our heads in the sand and scream, “No! I can’t take it anymore!” But that isn’t productive.

Instead, we can fight these overwhelming feelings of frustration by standing up and fighting for what we believe is right. My friend Steve listens all day long to radio station KSEV while at work. He gets angry as he listens to Rush Limbaugh, Dan Patrick and Jon Mathews spout the latest interpretations of what’s happening in our society. The pundits put their conservative spin on news items, deliberately inciting their listeners to call in and rave about an issue they really don’t understand. Steve often yells at these ill-informed individuals through his radio, insisting they secure an education more formal than beer guzzling 101, or advanced stock-car tune-up tricks.

I, on the other hand, am subjected to these same callers by my spouse, who is more conservative than I, every time we drive her car to a family function. I actually enjoy hearing this nonsense because it reminds me each time I hear it of the rights of Americans to stand up and shout about things we don’t like or, in some cases, don’t understand.

Why do we acknowledge that Houston has some serious environmental issues yet the leading medical center, perhaps in the world, refuses to engage in any serious research on the subject? Why do we have mercury in flu vaccines? Why did the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality roll back emissions requirements on industry? Wouldn’t it be terrific if more people, when finding out such negative news, would stand up and express their anger, frustration and fear? Are you angry yet? Are you doing anything about it yet?