This is One of the Huge Reasons Why I Don't Miss Having a TV

Mike Cosper:

In a culture of narcissism, celebrities must continually project themselves into the conversation in order to feel validated. For a pundit, that often means gravitating towards the extreme, regardless of how disconnected our comments might be from reality. Limbaugh is on his 4th marriage – not exactly moral high ground, and though he’s since apologized for the statement, he’s done so with enough caveats and qualifications to make for a profoundly unapologetic apology. He laments, “I think it is absolutely absurd that during these very serious political times, we are discussing personal sexual recreational activities before members of Congress.” A strange statement from a man who relished every moment and detail of the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

The pundits on the left have pounced on the issue, holding it up as an obvious example of the right’s hatred of women, conveniently forgetting the comments of folks like Bill Maher, who regularly spew similar vitriol about Sarah Palin and her daughter Bristol. This is an equal opportunity offense by conservatives and liberals.

To me, what’s sad about Limbaugh’s comments are that they’re so… ordinary. Our speech is full of hyperbole – from political discourse to dinner descriptions. Just cruise through a twitter timeline. It seems like we can’t have a conversation about ordinary, everyday things. We can’t be civil and mediated. All of life is the best and the worst. The hero and the villain. There is no grey. There are no degrees. There is only black and white.

To our over-stimulated and over-hyped world, ordinary life is boring. Put a pundit on television who is willing to color in shades and nuance the issues, and you’ll find yourself reaching for the remote. Loud sells, and we’re all buying it.

The only alternative for us is to turn it off.

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