". . . the damage is self-inflicted."

True, up to a point. But this particular "dumbing down," I think, comes largely as a result of hearing only one side of the story, and with five mega-corporations in control of the media, that's what the vast majority of the American public gets. But there are other sources.

The Jim Lehrer News Hour on PBS gives pretty in-depth reports, and they do their damnedest to get it right. NOW, with Bill Moyers does some pretty good investigative reporting, as does Frontline, but these programs are on PBS, which all too many Americans regard as "square" or "dull" or (or the ultimate curse) "for eggheads"— and, of course, the all-time favorite, "ultra-liberal." What makes these programs all those things is that they try to present things factually, more often then not they show rather than tell, and they give people from both sides of an issue an opportunity to speak their piece and they let the viewer make up his or her mind. And Frontline and NOW, with Bill Moyers especially air issues that the Right and the Bush administration would much rather the general public not know about. Even 60 Minutes on CBS has been doing some pretty darned good journalism lately. These programs earn the usual collection of epithets, not because what they report is untrue, but because they report it at all.

And, of course, there is a vast wealth of information to be found on the internet. Reading material from the news services of other countries supplies a lot that one just doesn't hear about in the U. S., and it allows one to compare these offerings with what is offered in the domestic media. This can be quite revealing. Also, CSPAN and CSPAN2 allow one to watch a whole series of candidates' debates, and see our government in action (which is often, as the saying goes, like watching sausage being made–something you'd rather not know).

If one watches the news at all, it's easiest to just pop on one of the Big Three (ABC, NBC, or CBS), catch a few national sound-bites, a few local sound-bites, and then seque right into the game shows and sitcoms and heavy dramas like Touched by an Angel. If one is really into the news at all, one can switch over to CNN or Fox News (sometimes not a helluva lot of difference there).

The "dumbing down" comes from laziness, lack of interest, and desire to be entertained rather than informed. If democracy depends on an informed electorate, if eternal vigilance is the price of freedom, and if we really do get the government we deserve, I'd say we are in deep doo-doo.

You've gotta do it yourself. If you sit back and say, "Let George do it"—well, look folks! He's doing it!!

Don Firth