A New Restaurant Opening in Twin Falls Isn’t News

I feel abandoned.  There’s no new restaurant, car wash, or hotel opening in my neighborhood this week.  Otherwise, I could write about the hoopla and long lines as people rush to be the first to check in, buy a burger, or scrub some grime.  And I would get a lot of page views.  The Internet records every click on a story, and it’s apparent that a large bloc of you consider a bread store to be serious news.  Budget talks, not so much.  A loaf of sourdough is more important than your tax bill.

Define What We Call News

Then you can accuse councilors, commissioners, or legislators of corruption, without ever citing any evidence.  If you even bother to vote, you can cast your ballot for someone who shouts the same thing and never accomplishes anything once elected.  Then we all wonder why society always looks to be falling apart or failing.  But maybe it’s not failing you.  Maybe you failed society.  Again, you think a new burger joint is actual news.  You talk about liberties but can’t come up with an answer as to how many are enumerated in the First Amendment.  You don’t know the difference between a State Senator and a U.S. Senator.  And you can’t explain the difference between a Senator and a Representative.  Or why, in the early days, we designed bicameral legislatures.  Oh, and a legislature is the entire body.  A legislator is an individual.

We Can Only Blame Ourselves

People complain about the quality of schools.  You can look at graduates and find some who got a diploma and have all these things figured out, while someone else remains confused.  Is it the fault of the school, or did one cohort simply ignore instruction?

A friend of mine says if you don’t vote, don’t complain.  I would write more, but I’m told to keep it brief because the average attention span is now 40 seconds.