American Media's Unclaimed Purpose

So today I had a quick realization about the current health of our national economy. People go on and on all the time about how they hate watching the news because it's always so negative. True. It does seem to be very negative. FairNBalanced. Or We report. You decide. Yes, this is geared toward even one of my most trusted news sources. To get to the point, today I thought one of the most powerful purposes for our national media could actually be to lead vs. simply report. I mean everyone in the country who wants to have an impact or be in the know does so by paying attention to the news. If we acknowledge this to be true, then we also must automatically acknowledge the powerful impact the media can have. I believe their positive or negative impact to be evident today. The shared justification of their purpose, being the reporters and news channels simply report the news, is weak. I'm sorry, but when your impact is as powerful as theirs and the current state of our union is as it is, then they too must hold themselves to a higher standard of purpose. I believe Bill O'Reilly has gotten this a bit with declaring himself as a watchdog and then doing exactly that. Watchdogging. The idea here is we're all aware of the state of our union by now, but what do WE need to do now to help move us powerfully forward? I think Americans need to be spoken to like a coach speaking to his or her team. You motivate. You inspire. You lead. If you're a coach and you have a losing team you don't simply share the score with your team. They know the score. We know the score. While the media isn't our coach, they are certainly a team captain. It's a responsibility they recieve in exchange for having someone actually watch their show which in term enables them to make money via advertising dollars earned. Not to change subjects, but to illustrate exactly how deeply rooted the truth of my point is we can simply look at the remarkable victory of President-Elect Obama. How emotional was everyone at the news of his victory? His acceptance speech in Chicago? This is an obvious indication of the deep rooted resignation of the American majority. I believe people to be more easily influenced when deeply resignated. Resignation yeilds a need for hope and hope is exactly what people are so fired up about with Obama. But, hope for what with Obama. They don't even know. Just hope for something better. This proves my point about resignation breeds an easily influenced weekness. It's a needy place to come from. Our news channels could be serving vs. simply reporting. As a country on a national stage with the singular focus being to help gently (due to the ever so fragile state of American pride and ego), yet powerfully guide us back to center. Back to a place of common understood strength. Acknowledge strength. Unified strength. Let's stabalize the ship so we can then move powerfully forward. The media could act as a sort of national financial advisor by serving as a solid filter of sound basic financial education and principals. Coach cause and effect. I believe to some degree this is being done but...it's left a lot to be desired as far as a voice to be heard goes. Or maybe we're just slow and childlike with how we learn. Simply put...The news channels can share not only where we are, but also this is what we as Amercians should do first, second, third, etc. These are the smartest money moves you can make right now and long into the future. We should know the money spent is always more than the money saved by the money spent to save it. This ends with a net loss which can only be validated by a real need or an ability to take the financial loss for the benefit your recieve from the purchase. Used cars are almost always money better spent (cars industry issues), don't consume the equity in your home (real estate is not a get rich quick deal, move less, and invest for the long term ((investing)). Also, investments are never all or nothing. We should all practice balance and moderation. Yes, you can go out to eat from time to time. Yes, we can buy our children clothes for the seasons. Moderation. Common sense. Let's eat at home with our kids at the table. Enough of the extreme reactions to the media good or bad. Enough of the reliance on other people's information when our own common sense has told us all we need to know. Our country is an infant and it takes a village to raise a child. We all need to kick in together to move us powerfully forward. When my child is sick their are some doctors advice I simply would never listen to. Like some of the "experts" these news channels are putting on, I don't know we need to be listening to them.

In short, America must stop looking and managing our money as pacifiers for our vanity and inequities. Our own lack of personal confidence or willingness to be ourselves and not the Jones'. This just in...the Jones' as a national icon have passed. We are all free to mourn the loss of them and stand together on our own individual two feet. We must be ourselves. Help ourselves and then our neighbors. Let's grow up. Hold ourselves accountable for our own mistakes and/or irresponsibilities and move on. Lesson learned.

I see our national economy as a single issue; while all we ever hear is how complex the issue or how difficult the fix is. It's our fault. Not there's. We bought into it. If I'm overweight, is it the pizza man's fault? The chocolatier's? All these experts and all this analysis. Why would we even listen to them considering the "expert's" track record? So far, how many of them have been "right"? As I see it, and this is just one man's perspective, but our current state of affairs is our fault no matter who we think we are able to blame. When are we going to start holding ourselves accountable for our own state of affairs? When did the strength of America come from our victim mentality and our sense of entitlement. I'm a victim. They did this to me. You owe me. Oh...I'm so inspired...to do...anything. You? Inspired? I didn't think so. We saw an opportunity and we took it without knowing all the rules. Many quit their jobs and used their life savings to invest in real estate after paying $2000 for a "boot camp" investment seminar. Simply crazy. Many refinanced their homes and took off to Hawaii just after they had their new plasma installed. Our current state of affairs is our fault and no one elses. How can so much blame be put on Adjustable Rate Mortgages when those products have safeguard caps in place and the interest rates have been very healthy for years and still are today. Any employed homeowner who is made or broken by $100 or $200 or $300 a month should have never purchased their home in the first place. Common sense should have told them this regardless of what some broker was saying. I've made my share of mistakes in this deal too, but I'm not blaming them on anyone else. At least not anymore. We are where we are. I'm not saying people don't need help, but let's stop looking back and start looking forward. Let's do so knowing we have to work together in our communities in order to keep our communities strong. We have stretched ourselves too thin by justifying our own greed, vanity, or ignorance.

To get back to the point, the media can acknowledge the TRUE cause of our state of affairs and begin to lead us back into balance by reporting on real-world solutions in todays economic times. We have to spent, but must do so wisely. They can bring in investors who started with nothing and are still successful today, They could also bring in timeless coaches and leaders. The best of the best. The wisest of council. The media should assemble the best cast of leaders that embody the American experience and have them coach, lead, and inspire. Over. And over. And over. But of course, again, this is just one man's opinion. I'm going to bed.