It's puzzling!

For someone raised on the notion that facts and truth and message are corrolaries, I am dishearteded by the constant flow of rhetoric from both ends of the political spectrum. Though the addage "Don't let the facts get in the way of the truth!" is not new, it's abuse through the internet and our short attention spans is abominable. My favorite commentator was William F. Buckley. He was a master of reasoned discourse over demagoguery. I learned much about communication with both written and oral lanuage through listening to him. A prime example of the lack of factual communication today is the "news" panel discussions. I can seldom listen to one, even when the topic is intriguing, because the speakers talk over each other. It appears anathema today for one person to respond rationally to the other. I guess it's not good "entertainment". Interestingly, I still find the print media to be the best source. At least one can consider the source at leisure. I cannot imagine the average electronic media allowing enough time to even read the average print article. And, the internet is mostly opinion which is little help, since it usually masquerades as fact. It takes a pretty cynical person to really separate the wheat from the chaff. Keep Smiling!