It’s dizzying. And, if your head feels right now like a rotisserie chicken, you are not alone. It’s almost as if we are binge watching a television show. New episodes and seasons keep getting added. The screen is constantly refreshing itself, while we are looking at the next post and replying to the last tweet. There is no more “yesterday’s news.” Today’s news continues to become yesterday’s news. Terrified that we are going to miss something, and not knowing what that something is. Who knows, but we have become children not wanting to go to bed out of fear of missing the party.
The problem is, that much of it is significant. No, not the silly tweets and memos, or the endless Facebook posts. Sadly, those have become the binge breaks. The question is: As a society can we handle it? To be honest, I’m not sure. For two days, I’ve been thinking about protesters, and how so many could be cast on Extreme Makeover. They could even call it: Extreme Makeover Protest Edition. Or, that if Hollywood were to remake Grumpy Old Men, who better to star in it than John McCain and Lindsey Graham? You can’t imagine these two guys in a remake of The Odd Couple, and John Kasich as Murray. But, then the next story and the Grumpy Old Men are put on hold.
The Pro Bowl was played this weekend. Serena won her record 23rd grand slam, and the Knicks keep losing. Actors were screaming at an awards show. I think the NHL had its all-star game. I also believe the Royal Rumble took place, and my brother-in-law apparently got a new cat. And, just as I’m writing this, I get a Fox News alert, that the current Attorney General is telling the Department of Justice something or another about the Trump ban. I’m sure that because of that, I’ll be getting another alert in five minutes with the White House’s response.
There needs to be a binge break, like a Sabbath for news. Almost every channel, whether it be on radio or television, synchronizes its programming, so that they go to commercial simultaneously. We just need longer commercials. If the market crashes, they halt trading. Maybe, just maybe, if there is too much news, they can halt the news. The networks get together, and they cry “Sabbath.” And, yes, I know this won’t happen, silly rabbits, but it is a novel idea in my head.
Or, we can just keep going at this pace, and forget what the hell it was we were trying to defend, and fight for, in the first place. We need our days and nights back. We can’t possibly live like we were 7/Eleven. We need to think about the comedy stylings of McCain and Graham, and the two of them performing together on a nightly basis. Tell me that you can’t just see these guys on a cruise ship, with their opening act of Never Trumpers featuring Bill Kristol. I’m actually starting to think about it now, the two of them in their candy striped jackets, straw hats and canes, or ice fishing together in Minnesota.
Try this out for a few seconds. If these visuals haven’t helped distract your minds from the news and the next tweet, I don’t know what will. But, an odd sense of tranquility has just come over me. I’m going to walk my friend’s dog in the beautiful Los Angeles sun, leave my phone behind, and realize the alert will alert me, that there will be another alert soon enough. Don’t forget to enjoy this commercial break.
Fox News alert: Trump fires AG. I did get a good walk in.
