To expand upon TU’s post yesterday about the signs aging, I have found myself becoming more and more interested in an activity that I’ve always associated with senior citizens: talk radio.
Now in my defense, I’m more engaged in sports talk radio than anything else, but I will occasionally give a listen to the news stations… and I’d be lying if I said I NEVER listen to the celebrity gossip. But one thing that has me a bit dumbfounded upon my initial parlay into talk radio is the extreme buy-in to ultra-conservative expression.
Do conservative talk radio jockeys and their rabid fan base ACTUALLY believe the U.S. is going to become a communist nation under Democratic leadership? This is by no means a political stance, but I just cannot comprehend anyone actually saying those words with a straight face.
Just try to objectively think about that statement for a minute. That would be like someone in the most third-worldest country saying “You know what? If we're not careful we'll be using paper money and covering our genitals before we know what hit us.” No offense, but probably not gonna happen.
I suppose the argument is that the rest of the media (TV, print and online) is ultra-liberal, thus making radio the conservative outlet. But even at the height of President Bush-bashing, I can’t recall anyone making a claim as outrageous as communism. I mean, communism? Is everything right with the state of U.S. politics right now? Absolutely not. But are we really one executive decision away from communism?
Again, it’s not the talk radio personalities that concern me - they’re paid to be extreme personalities. What’s alarming is the fanatical audience response at times… But then again, I could be off base here. I certainly didn’t conduct a comparative analysis of media coverage from the past five years… who knows.
If nothing else, I guess it’s good for an occasional laugh.
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