Peter Gay: Ignoring the truth can be less stressful – The Sun Chronicle
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I don’t understand the people I come across who have no idea what’s going in the world. They’re typically ignorant not only about world news, they often don’t know what’s happening nationally, statewide or even in their hometown.
I consider myself lucky that my family has always been informed. Our parents used to have home delivery of The Providence Journal back when the paper regularly published news about Attleboro, they eventually switched to The Boston Globe when local coverage waned.
The Sun Chronicle was printed in the afternoon back then, so we always knew what was going on in the world. They also listened to Frank Titus deliver the morning news on WARA and watched Walter Cronkite faithfully every night. I made a point to listen carefully when they would discuss the events of the day over dinner.
It’s probably why I subscribe to this paper and have digital subscriptions to The Globe, Boston Herald and Providence Journal. I also watch a half-hour of news from one of the Boston television stations, another half-hour from a Providence station and then NBC’s “Today Show.”
Some of you are probably thinking my sources are all part of that vast conspiracy to misinform the American people with “fake news.” Do you really believe that is possible? Isn’t it more likely the minority of the “news” organizations spewing opposite views are misleading their audiences?
Take the recent LIV Golf Bedminster Invitational at Trump National in New Jersey, for example. There was a photo published of the former president with Fox News host Tucker Carlson and Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former colleague of Carlson before she started dating Donnie Jr., chuckling as the crowd chanted “Let’s go Brandon.”
Have you ever seen Lester Holt, Savannah Guthrie or Hoda Kotb in a similar situation.
How about conspiracy conservatives like Alex Jones? He’s made a fortune pretending to believe that the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School never happened and grieving parents were simply “actors” in a plot by the left to take away your guns.
You can’t be serious!
Jones, of course, squealed like a pig when confronted on the witness stand last week? He admitted that there were indeed 27 innocent victims gunned down on Dec. 14, 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut. The fear of losing his fortune apparently helped him to understand “it was irresponsible to declare” the murders a hoax.
I’m sure the conservative “news” organizations did not report the same story that aired on the “Today Show” on Friday. The reporter in Dallas told viewers the city was about to experience its 41st day of triple-digit temperatures this year and that the average daily high in July was 102.4 degrees, almost seven degrees above normal.
The story added that people, especially those who are financially challenged, are suffering and the state’s energy grid could fail at any moment.
What they did not report was that the odds were high climate-change deniers like Gov. Greg Abbott and Sen. Ted Cruz were sheltering someplace cool.
They did also not tell viewers that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell — another climate-change denier, was probably high and dry during the record floods in his home state of Kentucky. The network didn’t remind viewers that McConnell once stated he would never agree to a “Blue State bailout” while the northeastern United States was suffering during the height of the pandemic. He added that states like New York should declare bankruptcy rather than receive federal aid.
Speaking of severe weather, I have to wonder how many Attleboro residents know about the city’s water ban. The restrictions make sense, as do the fines the city has set for residents who don’t know about or choose ignore the ban.
It’s fair to ask if the restrictions aren’t going to be enforced, however, what good are they? Once again, not knowing about the ban is no excuse.
My suggestion to city leaders is that IF fines ARE being issued, the names of the offenders should be given to this newspaper and posted on the city’s social media pages.
Another story I read ran on the front page of The Sun Chronicle’s Wednesday edition. It was about Democrats optimism after “voters in traditionally conservative Kansas overwhelmingly backed a measure protecting abortion rights.”
What the writer did not say is that the hopes of those voters are going to be severely disappointed when their party gets hammered in November.
The Democratic party nationally reminds me of the GOP in our state. Mass. Republicans are so unorganized they’re allowing Trump loyalist Geoff Diehl to avoid debates with Chris Doughty. As a result, Diehl will surely win the party’s nomination and then get trounced by Maura Healey.
Writing this column made me realize not knowing what’s happening is a lot less stressful.
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