Monday, January 24, 2011

Time Out

One of the missions of the Carton Family is community building.  I intend to take the first step and demand some sanity. It is so easy to form an opinion and stick to it. This site among other local sites have taken their respective high grounds, planted their flags and fought tooth and nail for what they believe is right, shooting across the bows of the opposition. Editorial pot-shots are fun to write, but with every form of media taking pot-shots we find it is the public is caught in the crossfire. Nothing good comes from it, ever.

After the shooting in Arizona the nation seems to demand an end to the overly zealous rhetoric. I agree and see a desperate need for some calming on a local level. The Daily Astorian, Hipfish and North Coast Oregon are all guilty of fueling this flame and it is time they all step back, take a breath, calm down and become responsible sources for news that is reported objectively without bias. May the best outlet succeed and reap the rewards of satisfied readers and advertisers. Better yet, may they all succeed providing an atmosphere of objectivity.

There has been a lot of polarization over candidates past and present; those who have been in office and removed from office justly, or unjustly. It is history and it must be placed on a shelf and we need to move ahead.

We have new County Commissioners that have been elected by a majority of the citizens. If they have their own agendas, fine. Most voters were aware of their baggage and voted for them maybe because of their baggage and maybe just for “change.” Future history will expose them as heroes or villains of our time. They need the opportunity to fail or succeed on their own merits and accomplishments. It isn’t fair for the media to prop them up or tear them down, yet. If these elected servants do well they will get the chance to seek subsequent terms. If not they may be shunned or worse yet, recalled by the voters.

This is not a promotion of complacency, but rather one of understanding, compassion, fairness and perhaps forgiveness. We all need a fresh perspective and a fresh start. This becomes more of a task for everyone. If the people demand it, the media outlets will take notice and adapt their editorial platforms into one based in respect and tolerance for all opinions while raising the bar on objective and fair journalism.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is pathetic. Agree with Syd or you are agreeing with the Arizona shooter? Pfft. Didn't think the day would come but it has. Wish you hadn't taken up the pen again, Carton. Your melodramatic slop we can get from Oprah and Dr. Phil.

Anonymous said...

Christ, the first comment must have been written by McGee. Who else sucks up to the biased reporting so he can repost it on his blog. If it wasn't for the Astorian he wouldn't have a life. I guess you enjoy gun violence and rhetoric.

Anonymous said...

That isn't McGee's writing- It's more likely its from one of his overlords or gurus--I'd say the "price" is right. The word "melodramatic" isn't in McGee's vocabulary and even if it was he couldn't spell it correctly.

Anonymous said...

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Anonymous said...

Comparing nco to the daily astorian is a stretch, nco always has documents to back up the story, while the daily a has been known to just make them up. Granted there is alot to forgive in this community, but your analysis appears to be a simple approach, it's rarely that simple. The prior poster said outstanding mission, let's just hope the electeds have ethics and respect for the office they hold.

Patrick McGee said...

God Lord in Heaven!!!