By Frank Hyland

Picture This!

You sit down at the Breakfast table with your Cuppa, your Bagel, and your morning newspaper. After a sip and a bite, you unfold the paper to discover that…..there’s nothing but headlines. Hungry for last night’s sports scores or the latest gossip or your fill of the World Roundup or the status of the levee breaks in the Midwest, you frantically turn page after page, looking for the text that is supposed to accompany the headlines and that has been there always in the past. But you look in vain on page after page. All the way to the back – Page 26 – it’s headlines only. You’re left with an empty feeling, a hungry feeling, wanting more and feeling let down that the newspaper’s publisher has cheated you out of something they owe you in return for your subscription money. Fair is fair! You’ve done your part – you paid for it; you have every right to expect that the newspaper will do its part, don’t you?

Now – Picture This – You are channel surfing and you see on the Careless News Network a familiar face and he’s being interviewed about his plans for America when he becomes President. You watch his facial expressions. You listen intently to his words. The interview ends. You pause, thinking…..something….. It then hits you like a Two by Four, square between the eyes – There was nothing but headlines! Hoping that you would get more substance, you log in to his campaign website. You watch; you listen; forewarned by your experience and your reaction to the earlier interview, you shake your head in disbelief.

He said: “…..learn more about our movement for change…..”
You wondered: Huh? Change? From what? To what?

He said: “…..we’re coming together because we believe in what this country can be…..”
You wondered: Huh? Just what is it that you think this country can be? Why didn’t you say what you think it can be? Why didn’t you tell me?

He said: “…..in the face of war, we believe there can be peace.”
You thought: In the face of planes being flown into the World Trade Center, you believe there can be peace while Osama bin Laden continues to rally his troops? Why didn’t you tell me your definition of “peace,” Senator? Is it the peace of the hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi people who lie “peacefully” in mass graves? Is it the “peace” of innocent Israeli children who must flee to their basements to avoid rockets fired at them by HAMAS?

He said: “…..in the face of despair, we believe there can be hope…..
You wondered: Who, exactly, is despairing? Why are they despairing? Do you have a “One-Size-Fits-All” solution for despair? And – hope for what, Senator? Help? What kind or kinds of help? To help them do what?

He said: “…..in the face of a politics that’s…..shut us out for so long, we believe we can be one people.”
You wondered: Huh? My mailbox and the mailboxes of family, friends, and neighbors are filled with requests for our participation, our involvement. Anyone who is still feeling shut out must be living on another planet, Senator. So who, exactly, is “Us,” Senator?

He said: “…..reaching for what’s possible…..”
You thought: What? Run that by me again, Senator, and this time fill in the blanks, please. What’s possible? What’s possible to do what?

He said: “…..please join us in changing the country…..”
You wondered: Changing the country? From what? To what? Why? At what cost? And then?

But then and there, the clip ends. You can view it (over and over if you wish, as you “hope” for more information to fill in the blanks you feel) at my.barackobama.com . I must warn you in advance, though, that you will be able to squeeze precious little more substance out of it than you read above. If you do, I and the other Staff Writers here at New Media Alliance would love to hear from you.

Finally, you said to yourself, “We may be a Soundbite Nation, Senator, but I am not a Soundbite Citizen. You owe me more than headlines!