What to do about those "Talking Heads"?

Silencing the Talking Heads, Mönchehaus Museum, Goslar, Germany, August 2010,
Panasonic DMC-ZS7, Focal length 10.3mm, Exposure 1/40 sec @ f4, ISO 200, no flash
© Steven Crisp  [Click on the photo to enlarge]

Yes indeed, what to do about those "Talking Heads".  You know the ones I mean ... it doesn't matter if you sit to my right or my left.  Both sides have them.  Has it always been this way?  I think not.

Before the advent of the 24-hour Cable News Network (thanks Ted ;-), things seemed, well,  so much newsier.  Interesting how with only a limited time to learn about the days and weeks events, journalists and anchormen had to prepare well-edited, news stories.

Now it seems to me like some strange combination of entertainment, infomercial, and biased-opinion masked as news, stuck on a treadmill of repetition, interspersed with some BREAKING NEWS story that as often as not turns out to be TV's equivalent of tabloid journalism (anyone remember "Balloon Boy"?)

It really doesn't matter if the Talking Head knows what he's talking about ... just so long as he keeps on talking.  And frankly, the more outlandish and provocative his uninformed pronouncements, the better.  Makes for really good sound bites in the next 24-hour news cycle.

There is good news in all of this, however.  A lot of folks realize these "news" channels provide nothing that benefit them directly.  And they are starting to turn off the TV.  Some are going so far as to get rid of the TV.  What a life-affirming step that would be.  Worried about your lack of time?  How would you like to have all those hours laid before you each and every day to do with as you see fit?  That's pretty empowering.

And what of the "real news"?  Once again, the internet has come to your rescue and offers it up to you in whatever size, shape, and bias you want.  You are in charge.  And you can scan the headlines and only read about (or watch and listen in video clips and podcasts) those stories which really do matter to you.  Or maybe those that will motivate you.  Or inspire you.

You know this is true, deep down.  You are fully, entirely, empowered.  The next step is up to you.  What steps will you take to silence the talking heads?

The carnival and the chatter

I’m sitting in an airport terminal. Generally not a bad thing — it gives me time to read, or write, or relax.

Except, of course, for the incessant TV blaring out the “bad” news of the day. What a burden. Poisoness to the soul.

At home, one can take action and just turn of the TV (or better, never bother to turn it on).

But in a public space — the airport, a bar, a waiting lounge — someone has decided for you that this is what you want to hear. Or more likely, they have some sort of business deal that requires them to have it on, turned into a specific channel. That way you get news you don’t need to hear, surrounded by advertisements for things you just don’t need.

Oh, the drama of it all. I just a novice at this enlightenment stuff — it’s still very hard for me to tune out the background chatter.

But there is good news. Ah, the good news is that I see more clearly, each day, the futility and misdirection of paying attention to such chatter. It is but a distraction from real insight, real appreciation of the world, how it works, and what is meaningful.

Like the hawkers at the carnival, they try to draw you in to their show, and in the process extract some of your cash. And my recommendation would be that while you are awakening — pass them by. They will not serve you well, and they do not have your interests at heart. They themselves are fully captured by the carnival. Captive to the loud noise and freakish attractions.

Go instead into yourself, and consider things that really matter. Commune in nature and gain insights into the real world, not the sideshows.

But what of these constant bombardments? Surely you can not escape them entirely. And surely they add color and possibly even zest to life itself. Yes, and once you have awakened, you will be able to experience the carnival called life with equanimity and detachment. You will be able to experience these attractions (really ‘dis’tractions), and not be unwittingly captivated by them.

So for now, as you awaken, pass them by, tune them out, turn them off, and dwell in the everpresent silence within, and be at peace.