Quotations and Soundbites ©
By Michael Casey
I gave a book to the charity shop this morning on my way to
Aldi, we have a ton of charity shops where I live, that and fast food shops. So
I handed in the book to the lady in the shop, as there was a quotation on the
back I read it aloud to her, just for dramatic effect. I asked who it was and
she said Shakespeare, in actual fact it was Henry VIII. The quote was about
fidelity so it made me smile, Henry VIII and fidelity.
It was so cold today I had to put 2 pairs of socks on, I also
had to slap on the pain killer before I could even start up the road. Then
later on I had to venture out again to the opticians with my small daughter. So
now its 7pm as I look up at the clock and I know I have 2 hours to spare before
Elementary is on tv, Sherlock the original was amazing a couple of nights ago
then tonight we have the USA variety.
So you can see how I slot in my writing, I did post my
Valentine Poem on my sites today as I thought Arthur my arthritis might be the
winner today, so you all have it ready to woo your love or loves of your life,
just make sure they don’t meet. I did once have to book a table for 3 on a
Valentine’s Night…
I was looking at Fox to hear about the Hearings for Trump’s
cabinet, the guy who was alleged to be a
racist had an Eastern looking guy with small children behind him, I didn’t know
was that his own family or was it all Power Politics. Then you had the denials.
Tomorrow you will have the former Exon guy stating he is perfect for the job even
though he did billions worth of business in USSR, sorry Russia, though Putin
seems to want to bring back the USSR. Maybe Putin is word perfect with the old
Beetles’ song, Back in the USSR. Putin
may even have it as a favourite on his Spotify song list. Will the Exon guy be
able to change from poacher to gamekeeper, if I can use a simple analogy?
Especially in Politics we get quotations and soundbites
galore. News clips are trundled out for 15 seconds on tv and folks are supposed
to understand everything from that. It really is a disservice to people and
politics. I am a news addict myself, have watched and enjoyed news for 50
years. I may watch and listen 4 hours of news a day, I could have watched Soaps
instead and be the Birmingham England anchor for TMZ, instead I am just words on a page.
Quotations are used to bring power to a situation, Tear Down
That Wall was used by Reagan, now we have Build a Wall by Trump. So the
metaphor of a wall has such great power, though Trump says his will be the real
thing just like Coca Cola. Do people believe what is being said if all they
hear is 15seconds?
Watching The Five on Fox, you have people almost shouting over
each other, it really is News as Sports Reporting. Is the audience helped by
what they see, or is it just background while they scream for a beer in a bar. Different
countries do things differently, perhaps I’ve been spoilt by having 20 years
exposure to BBC Radio 4 from the ages of 8 to 28 and for many years thereafter.
So my formation as a news junkie was radio, not sport news reporting, and I
mean where normal news is reported as a sport.
You said XYZ when you were 10, you said you’d never be a
Politician, here’s the video your sister took at the time. But you said ABC
when you were 23, you said you were not Gay, but now at 39 you have come out,
does this mean you are a liar, Mr Chairman.
This goes on and on, its tit for tat, in the end its just
plain boring and people switch off the news and watch the cookery channel
instead. I confess I did stop writing this piece to watch Rick Stein in Italy
on BBC2, he was in Bologna, my small daughter has christened him the David Attenborough
of Food. But where was I, wishing we
could all visit Bologna when my health allows me, maybe in another year, health
insurance permitting.
People, me, you, the guys in the bar are being done a great
disservice if we don’t have proper interviews with proper questions. If the
reporting is like a junior high school then it’s not News, its Entertainment.
So Mr Trump should have his toes held to the fire and not be allowed to twitter
on Twitter. Hillary should have not been allowed to say vote for me I’m woman,
I have a vagina and Mr Trump does not. Forgive the language, Twitter is a bit of a
dirty word after all. If all we get is a tweet instead of proper answers to
questions then we are all being abused.
Government is By the People for the People, and Justice should
be seen to be done. Government is not a clique attending Michelin 3 star
restaurants. It’s not words tossed like scraps to the Press Pack, then doors
slammed shut in faces. Yes Mr Trump should keep his Twitter if he wants to, I
confess I found it addictive myself, I am not on it now. But Mr Trump needs to
know that the 4th Estate are a most important part of society, and
without them spreading the word about what is really happening then all we get
are lies. Are what do lies beget? Ignorance and War.
Just for the record I want Mr Trump to be a really great
President and amaze us all, because a Strong and Gentle USA is the greatest
influence for Good there is. The alternative is soundbites, and as we all know
bites give rashes. I’m not expecting Mr Trump to be a political Nudist, like those statues all over the country
before the election. But meeting the Press and talking to them is more
important than anything, even if you hate the SOBs, you can always wash your
hands afterwards, Jesus washed the disciples’ feet, he was humble enough to do
that. How humble will you be to serve
the American People?
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