Jefferson Review

"Your Liberty is Our Interest"

Home /  Archives / Search / Links / Quotes / Book Reviews / Advertise /Contact us / Subscribe / Calendar

What About The Real Crises?

By Theresa Fritz Camoriano

We know that the news media love to create “crises”, because that’s what helps sell their products and promote their agendas.  As a result, we are treated to a new “crisis” nearly every day.  However, after a little investigation or thought, we usually realize that what was touted as a crisis really is not.  For example, The Reverend Coleman has discovered a “crisis” in the dress code at Louisville’s new 4^th Street Live, saying that requiring people to wear shirts with sleeves was racial discrimination against blacks.  But is it really a crisis when an establishment wants to provide its customers an opportunity to enjoy themselves among neatly-dressed patrons?  And aren’t black people just as capable as white people of dressing in a presentable manner?  In another so-called “crisis”, the C-J is very upset that Kentucky’s Gov. Fletcher’s has hired a young attorney, who has only four years’ experience, at a salary of about $60,000 per year.  Maybe the C-J writers ought to look at the salaries earned by young, capable lawyers these days – or maybe they would prefer that Gov. Fletcher hire old, incompetent lawyers who can’t earn higher incomes in the competitive private sector?  Yes, these manufactured “crises” are pretty weak, but what’s a media mogul supposed to do in order to sell his product?

With all this manufacturing of false crises by the media, one would think that we did not really have any urgent problems, but one would be wrong.  There are plenty of real crises all around us, but they aren’t the kinds of problems that fit neatly into the media’s agendas, so, unfortunately, they don’t get much play.

Bill Cosby’s recent speeches have dealt with some truly serious problems, indeed real crises, that are having a very negative impact on children, families, and our whole society.  Cosby spoke about girls having babies before they are married, the breakdown of families, and children who are not learning to read or speak proper English.  Why isn’t the C-J doing regular articles about the source and extent of these problems and about what people are doing to try to solve them?  Why isn’t the Reverend Coleman mounting a protest march against illiteracy or illegitimacy?  Knowing that unmarried girls’ having babies sets up both the girls and the babies for failure, why doesn’t the C-J engage in the kind of negative stereotyping against irresponsible sex and unwed mothers that it does against smokers, instead of promoting “anything goes” lifestyles? 

Unfortunately, for some reason, the media are wedded to the idea that we can live our lives any way we choose and simply rely on government to be our savior and the solution to all our problems, and so they search for “crises” or create “crises” that call out for more government control, more taxes, and the like.  But the truth is that not only is government not the savior; it often is the source of the problem, and how we live our lives is a great predictor of  how successful we will be.  By subsidizing illegitimacy and the breakdown of families, the government has encouraged more of those problems, with innocent babies, women, and children suffering immeasurable damage as a result.  By insisting on political control of education, supposedly for the good of the children, and teaching that promiscuity is fine as long as you use a condom, we ensure only that children learn to be politically correct, while leaving them illiterate, incapable of logical analysis, and ill-equipped to lead productive lives. 

Fortunately, there are a few people who are willing to speak out about the real crises, including Bill Cosby.  If we have our eye on the real problems, and are willing to look at the truth instead of being distracted by imaginary “crises”, there is a much better chance of making a positive difference.  Maybe we will apply some social pressure on girls to get married before they start having babies and on boys to be responsible for the children they father.  Maybe we will encourage our institutions to support marriage and families.  Maybe it will become socially acceptable again to strive for a good education and to be enthusiastic about learning.  Maybe we even will begin to appreciate the many honest business people who become wealthy by providing products or services to customers and who create jobs that provide opportunities for people to improve their lot in life, rather than treating successful business people as if they were evil plunderers.  If we are dealing with the truth, we will recognize that plundering is the official job of government, not the job of honest business people.

The real solutions to these problems are not sexy, quick, and “feel good”.  They require a change in people’s way of looking at the world – a change from feeling like a helpless, dependent victim to knowing that we have  considerable control over our own destiny.  They require people to accept independent responsibility for themselves and to develop self-discipline and drive – to forego immediate gratification in order to strive for long-term success.  Yes, it would be nice if the media told us the truth for a change, but I’m not holding my breath. 

Weather (Louisville) / Mapquest / Search / White Pages / Business Search / CNN / Dictionary / E-card / MSN