The Priority Factor

It seems as if the priorities of our news is out of whack. Few times was that more apparent to me then yesterday. There was a forest-fire raging just miles from my home and I was seriously contemplating the possibility of evacuation. The first response I had was to turn to the news for information and instruction. There was nothing about my pending doom on the cable news networks, perhaps I would have more luck with my local channels. There I found short shout-outs about the fire, smoke, and ash that was raining down on me like lake-effect snow in a Buffalo winter. But they could only fit in limited reports about the fire story because it seem there were even more important things going on in the world.

I know I'm not that important. I know that there are wars, famines, and conspiracies that dwarf the significance of me and my sleepy rural community. But unfortunately for all of us, the wars, famines, and conspiracies were on the back-burner as well.

Q: What was the earth-shattering news that was canceling out all of the other stories? What was "The Priority Factor" of the day?

A: Anna Nicole Smith and Britany Spears.

I try to be an optimist. I try to tell myself that things are not that bad. I try to convince myself and others that humanity is not the brain-dead herd of Sheep so eloquently lampooned by Pink Floyd's Roger Waters. How difficult that becomes when I am so often proved wrong.

I survived the fire (obviously) and there were no losses of human life or property. But I am disgusted that with all of the advanced media at my disposal, my best source of info on the fire was to clime a tree in my back yard and look for the smoke. Given the state of our world, I didn't feel much like coming down. I liked it up there.