This
past week, I came across an old episode of Firing
Line – the William F. Buckley show where he interviewed various prominent
figures. The show paired the noted
conservative thinker with the famed philosopher and activist Noam Chomsky. The topic of conversation was the Vietnam War
and the appropriateness of the conflict.
As I watched these two learned individuals, it dawned on me just how far
we have digressed in our current political arena. It is clear that what journalists expect of
themselves and their audience has changed radically over the years.
William
F. Buckley was my political inspiration; the man who shook me from my general
ambivalence and provided a prise de
conscience to the importance of intellectualism and conservatism. In his show, he was unapologetically adroit
and demanded that his audience keep up, refusing to minimize or trivialize his
subject matter. The people he invited were
equally demanding, speaking at the highest levels. Together, Mr. Buckley and his guests
represented the highest form of political and social discourse. Additionally, the erudite, conservative
thinker also had a shockingly biting sense of humor that left his audience
wondering if they actually heard correctly.
On one occasion, Mr. Chomsky asked if his opponent remained seated on
his Firing Line show because he
couldn’t think on his feet. Mr. Buckley,
in his slow and deliberate drawl, responded, “It is hard to stand up under the
weight of all that I know.”
When
held against the famous debates between Mr. Buckley and men like Gore Vidal,
James Baldwin, Saul Alinsky and the aforementioned Noam Chomsky, what stands as
political discussion today does not even deserve the characterization of a
“cheap imitation.” Such labeling would
suggest an attempt to maintain the standards of those previous shows, however
seldom achieved. The pundits found on
CNN, MSNBC and FOX are deplorable and not worthy of comparison. There are a handful of people who
consistently elevate the discussion – men like George Will and Bill
Kristol. Yet, they too must submit
themselves to the altar of television commercialism and superficiality. The yelling and lack of proper discourse
often forces one to wonder when or if the adults will ever rescue our “news”
from the ditch in which it seems firmly entrenched.
What
would be the benefit of the return of such programming? That answer could fill pages but in short, it
would re-establish the importance of being informed, something to which the
American electorate seems, at times, unwilling to submit themselves. Mr. Buckley once said that, “The best defense
against usurpatory government is an assertive citizenry.” Like history, politics and the issues of
today are best consumed in a medium that allows for the greatest
exposition. This, hopefully, can
engender greater, more informative discussions rather than the tendency to
speak in slogans. Newspapers of today
are responding to budget cuts by providing less, making their product
irrelevant. If they are to go the way of
the dinosaur, best to go out with the highest demands and standards as
possible.
A
second point suggests an appropriateness of serious discussions over serious
issues where quick attempts to simplify and marginalize are the order of the
day. Last weekend, the Documentary
Channel aired a show that featured a 1963 roundtable discussion between James
Baldwin, Joseph Mankiewicz, Charlton Heston, Harry Belafonte, Marlon Brando and
Sidney Poitier on the subject of civil rights.
All the men had recently attended Martin Luther King, Jr.’s march upon
the capital. In a solemn and disciplined
tone befitting the seriousness of the subject, they discussed. Our society has a tendency to be sarcastic
and “funny” in order to be entertaining but the worth of discussion stems from the
exercise itself. Much like education
where subjects should be considered interesting in and of themselves, the
journalists and philosophers need the intellectual room to allow ideas to
breathe.
Lastly,
such programming would bring us away from the edge of the chasm, the bottom of
which is littered with more modern shows and reinforce the need of bigger
ideas. We are drowning in small and
insignificant notions and we are the worse for it as a society. Some would say that are world no longer allows for this and it goes against the prevailing winds of technology and society. Yet, imagine what would be possible if our leaders, those who cover them and the public demanded more.
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