When the trivial becomes important

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March 9, 2010

John Cannon The Daily Independent Tue Mar 09, 2010, 10:26 PM EST

Sometimes I am amazed at how intensely interested some people become over issues that I personally consider trivial. A few examples:

‰There are lots of things for which I can and do criticize President Barack Obama and even some things for which I praise him. I thought the irresponsible and reckless spending during the eight years of President George W. Bush was bad, but the Democrats under the leadership of President Obama have taken reckless spending to an entirely new level. It greatly concerns me that we are leaving a huge national debt that will burden our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren for generations to come. After all, they are still going to be paying interest on the money we borrowed to fund today’s programs

There are things I like about the Democratic health care reform bill — and things I dislike about it. There are scores of legitimate aspects of the bill in which wise people can disagree, and in my view, that should be what is being debated, not fictional “death panels” that will decide whether a patient lives or dies. Such talk trivializes the issue.

I also am not the least bit concerned over whether President Obama does or does not use a TelePrompTer when he speaks. I can’t imagine how whether a person reads a speech off a TelePrompTer, has it memorized or is speaking off the cuff has anything to do with what he or she is saying. Ronald Reagan was a superb speaker, so much so that he became known as the Great Communicator. Does anyone really think he did not use a TelePrompTer? Get real!

‰When I visit King’s Daughters Medical Center, I don’t care what is playing on the television in the waiting area. I don’t go to KDMC to watch television. Never have and never will. I go for blood work, ultrasounds and other “procedures” directly related to medical care. I also go armed with a crossword puzzle book just so I don’t have to pass the time by watching TV.

I dislike all 24-hour news channels because all of them seem to have an overabundance of “talking heads” telling me how to think and not enough real news. That being said, I don’t care whether they have an Ivy League education or are a high school drop out, I don’t listen to the “talking heads.”

I do listen to NPR news on the radio. I have had people tell me that Morning Edition and All Things Considered have liberal biases, but if so, I am missing it. For the most part, they simply report the news. My wife agrees with me on this — and she is a lot more conservative than middle-of-the-road me.

‰I have yet to lose a wink of sleep over Barack Obama’s birth certificate. The president has more than enough enemies that if he truly was not qualified to be president because of his place of birth, they would have proven it long before now.

I could go on, but you get my point. At a time in my life where the country I love seems more divided than ever, I just wish we would concentrate on the important stuff and ignore the trivial.

But I guess at a time when all these talking heads are yakking away 24 hours a day that is asking for too much.

JOHN CANNON can be reached at jcannon@dailyindependent.com or at (606) 326-2649.

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