Quotations and Soundbites

Quotations and Soundbites ©

By Michael Casey

I gave a book to the charity shop this morning on my way to Aldi, we have a ton of charity shops where I live, that and fast food shops. So I handed in the book to the lady in the shop, as there was a quotation on the back I read it aloud to her, just for dramatic effect. I asked who it was and she said Shakespeare, in actual fact it was Henry VIII. The quote was about fidelity so it made me smile, Henry VIII and fidelity.

It was so cold today I had to put 2 pairs of socks on, I also had to slap on the pain killer before I could even start up the road. Then later on I had to venture out again to the opticians with my small daughter. So now its 7pm as I look up at the clock and I know I have 2 hours to spare before Elementary is on tv, Sherlock the original was amazing a couple of nights ago then tonight we have the USA variety.

So you can see how I slot in my writing, I did post my Valentine Poem on my sites today as I thought Arthur my arthritis might be the winner today, so you all have it ready to woo your love or loves of your life, just make sure they don’t meet. I did once have to book a table for 3 on a Valentine’s Night…

I was looking at Fox to hear about the Hearings for Trump’s cabinet,  the guy who was alleged to be a racist had an Eastern looking guy with small children behind him, I didn’t know was that his own family or was it all Power Politics. Then you had the denials. Tomorrow you will have the former Exon guy stating he is perfect for the job even though he did billions worth of business in USSR, sorry Russia, though Putin seems to want to bring back the USSR.  Maybe Putin is word perfect with the old Beetles’ song, Back in the USSR.  Putin may even have it as a favourite on his Spotify song list. Will the Exon guy be able to change from poacher to gamekeeper, if I can use a simple analogy?

Especially in Politics we get quotations and soundbites galore. News clips are trundled out for 15 seconds on tv and folks are supposed to understand everything from that. It really is a disservice to people and politics. I am a news addict myself, have watched and enjoyed news for 50 years. I may watch and listen 4 hours of news a day, I could have watched Soaps instead and be the Birmingham England anchor for  TMZ, instead I am just words on a page.

Quotations are used to bring power to a situation, Tear Down That Wall was used by Reagan, now we have Build a Wall by Trump. So the metaphor of a wall has such great power, though Trump says his will be the real thing just like Coca Cola. 

Do people believe what is being said if all they hear is 15seconds?

Watching The Five on Fox, you have people almost shouting over each other, it really is News as Sports Reporting. Is the audience helped by what they see, or is it just background while they scream for a beer in a bar. Different countries do things differently, perhaps I’ve been spoilt by having 20 years exposure to BBC Radio 4 from the ages of 8 to 28 and for many years thereafter. So my formation as a news junkie was radio, not sport news reporting, and I mean where normal news is reported as a sport.

You said XYZ when you were 10, you said you’d never be a Politician, here’s the video your sister took at the time. But you said ABC when you were 23, you said you were not Gay, but now at 39 you have come out, does this mean you are a liar, Mr Chairman.

This goes on and on, its tit for tat, in the end its just plain boring and people switch off the news and watch the cookery channel instead. I confess I did stop writing this piece to watch Rick Stein in Italy on BBC2, he was in Bologna, my small daughter has christened him the David Attenborough  of Food. But where was I, wishing we could all visit Bologna when my health allows me, maybe in another year, health insurance permitting.

People, me, you, the guys in the bar are being done a great disservice if we don’t have proper interviews with proper questions. If the reporting is like a junior high school then it’s not News, its Entertainment. So Mr Trump should have his toes held to the fire and not be allowed to twitter on Twitter. Hillary should have not been allowed to say vote for me I’m woman, I have a vagina and Mr Trump does not.  Forgive the language, Twitter is a bit of a dirty word after all. If all we get is a tweet instead of proper answers to questions then we are all being abused.

Government is By the People for the People, and Justice should be seen to be done. Government is not a clique attending Michelin 3 star restaurants. It’s not words tossed like scraps to the Press Pack, then doors slammed shut in faces. Yes Mr Trump should keep his Twitter if he wants to, I confess I found it addictive myself, I am not on it now. But Mr Trump needs to know that the 4^th Estate are a most important part of society, and without them spreading the word about what is really happening then all we get are lies. Are what do lies beget? Ignorance and War.

Just for the record I want Mr Trump to be a really great President and amaze us all, because a Strong and Gentle USA is the greatest influence for Good there is. The alternative is soundbites, and as we all know bites give rashes. I’m not expecting Mr Trump to be a political  Nudist, like those statues all over the country before the election. But meeting the Press and talking to them is more important than anything, even if you hate the SOBs, you can always wash your hands afterwards, Jesus washed the disciples’ feet, he was humble enough to do that.  How humble will you be to serve the American People?