The Myth of the Ivory Tower (Part Two)

Sometimes I wish I could hide in an ivory tower. 

For when I turn to today's popular news sources, AM radio, cable TV, and online blogs, I find far too much inflammatory rhetoric by public personalities who seem primarily interested in self-promotion through sensational claims, irrelevant personal attacks, and straw man misrepresentations of alternative ideas.  

And when I return to the network news, I witness mostly sensational coverage of all things violent, a cartoonish attempt to appear objective by merely reporting competing claims without investigating their accuracy, and a negligent blind eye to newsworthy stories that are not profitable or just controversial. 

And when I seek solace in a newspaper, I come across generic newswire articles, less and less local coverage, too many columnists seemingly in search of their next job by impersonating cable TV hosts, and online reader comments fixated on name-calling and each other's bad spelling. 

I'm occasionally accused of being too sensitive.  And maybe I am.  But as the adult survivor of child abuse, someone whose life bears vivid memories of violence, I'm troubled by the sensationalized violence found in our daily news merely because it's profitable.  As a citizen who simultaneously feels proud of my society and sees room for improvement, I'm disappointed by the triviality of most news and the widespread neglect of newsworthy concerns.  As an educator who is dedicated to promoting critical thinking, I hope for a day I no longer wonder if this is a Sisyphean task up a mountain of fallacious news commentary and public discourse.  In other words, I may be oversensitive; but I'm sensitive at all because I don't live in an ivory tower isolated from some self-defined "real world."  Educators and education thrive or wither within the real world. 

Admittedly I do sometimes wonder if I should just pull the plug on most of my news consumption.  At the same time, as a committed educator, I realize I not only should continue, but feel compelled to become a news peddler.  So, here I am, suddenly seeking an audience while trying to remain newsworthy.  I find myself wondering how to appeal to another's interest while still thinking critically.  Come to think of it, this is not that different than teaching. 

Michael Aparicio teaches philosophy at Santa Rosa Junior College.  He's a regular contributor to, and editor for, Empire Report.  "Rojo Reports" is our collection of his news articles.  "The Gadfly" is our collection of his news commentaries.  Taken together, they are Michael's attempt to provide a balance of newsworthy reporting and thought-provoking questioning.