FROM THE SECOND FLOOR #2

FROM THE SECOND FLOOR #2

It’s in the news.

Which one? I mean a few years ago news was just that, news. Everyone covered the stories that we, the public, heard, read and talked about. It was fun and created banter, compassion and curiosity. We loved to hear or read information from many sources in many different venues. Some had unique twists on their stories, some reported only the good stuff, but all reported about the stuff.

Ah, but what is important?

Sadly what is important to us is now a mixed bag. I thought this was behind us. I thought, perhaps wishful thinking on my behalf, but still I wished and thought we were on the road of recovery. We were about to find a way finally to get along. I was wrong.

If you happen to be or think you are a Democrat you watch MSNBC, CNN and a few other outlets that lean in one direction. You hear what they say and believe it. It must be the truth because they are reporting it. They don’t offer two sides, only one. The one offered is theirs. You know, it’s the one they say is the only way.

If you happen to be or think, you are a Republican you listen to Fox News or conservative radio and a few outlets that lean in the entirely different direction as those listed. It must be the truth because they said it was, and we are supposed to trust them. Even when they offer two sides, one side is pushed a little harder than the other. They too say it’s the only way and fight tooth and nail to prove it.

If you happen to be or think, you are an Independent – you plan to show both sides, they are wrong, and you have it all together. You can watch all the news outlets, read all the newspapers and listen to all the radio shows because you form your own opinions and come hell or high water your opinion is what makes the world turn. You may even be a bit confused, but that’s a good thing if you have an open mind.

Now there are other opinions out there that differ from some of the above. If you are White, you may have limited vision and maybe a different outlook but then again maybe you don’t have those views at all. Confusing. If you are Black you too have strong opinions that may or may not agree with any of the above. Even when hurt deeply with promises, you stand tall waiting to be proven right for making the wrong decision. Stepping back further, if you are Hispanic, Oriental, Middle Eastern, or European you too have expectations that may or may not have been lived up to. The news has numbers, percentages, and we believe it because it must be the truth coming from reliable news sources.

In short, the story may go as far as to say someone owes you. Another "News" source believes all of what you have will soon be taken away based on ideas they created just for their audience. Some news talks about traditional issues and others lean on liberal stories. What if they’re both wrong?

The news. We see and hear it, but what are we hearing? We only hear what they want us to hear or see. They don’t talk about real issues because real doesn’t build an audience, doesn’t sell papers or magazines, and no one wants to acknowledge real because they have plenty of that stuff at home.

Looking down from the second floor I see all these potential disagreements and wonder if we all heard the same thing like we used to do – would we create our own interpretation of the issues at hand? Would that help us get along or make definite decisions? I’d like to think so.

In reality, we no long have “The News” and can no longer say I heard it on the news.

Ask yourself – do you believe what you hear? Is it the truth? Would anyone say anything if what you heard or read was based on a lie? Would we know it was a lie? We believed, as grownups should that if we heard or read it from a news source it must be the truth. Today there are so many liars in the news media you can’t tell the truth from fiction.

There is a reason newspaper are dying off. They only report what they think you want to know about and of course skip over all the exciting stuff. This missing “stuff” is what we want, but keep hearing that’s not what you want – you want this – “our” slant on things.

Like you, I am tired of being told what I want without anyone asking what that might be. I’m tired to being told this is what you need, or this is how it should be, or worse, this is how it’s going to be from now on whether you like it or not.

I watch the news promoting things or products that aren’t what they said they were.

The “real” news guys, men and women, are gone. What today's news represents is a one-sided editorial staff representing nothing more than a bunch of followers trying to convince us we should follow along behind them.

They report how bad people coming into the country are financially and that we should support them as humanitarians. I travel around our country and see an awful lot of people in trouble, in need of help, but I guess the news don’t talk about the poor Blacks, Whites or Hispanics because they live in America where we don’t have such things. I guess we are to believe everyone who lives in our country is just dandy and those coming into the country need help, money and attention. I’d like to read or hear the news telling us the truth. Some of our own people are in need of more help than those coming in, and our people should come first not last. But that is not news. It might even border on depressing.

I come from the old school. If it’s news, report it. Tell us like it is and tell us the truth. If something is a wrong report it. If people are hungry, starving or living in poverty report that too. The news should report the news – the good, the bad and the ugly.

I’m sick of one-sided news. I don’t care which side it is reporting. They need to get together and start telling it like it is. Stop the fluff from all sides. Stop reporting only how you see things. Report the whole and let us form our own opinions.

As my grandfather taught me, love thy neighbor. Smile to those in need, help with an open heart, share or offer assistance when possible and never meet another human being you don’t like because of news reports that say you probably do. What we hear on the news is not how it is at all. If we learn to work together, help one another, love thy neighbors as you would your own family we could share feelings and emotions. Regardless of where you are from or what your heritage may be we still have a chance to reach across the virtual bridge and accept all for who they are. None of us begins life angry. We do not have a choice in what our skin color is, and regardless of who told us what we are all very much alike. It’s the news that is telling us we’re not and that we’ll never get along. I say hogwash. Bring back the real “news” so we all know the truth of how things are.

William Byron Hillman © 2014

 

Just released:

HOAX – Prematurely Terminated a thriller

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KUZY7AY

My next planned films are:

Quigley’s Christmas Adventure

www.quigley2.com

(Sequel to hit film Quigley)

And

Of Light and Darkness

Web announcements coming soon

 

On Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@QuigleyMovie

Web site: http://www.williamhillman.com

Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/williamhillman

Twitter Page http://www.twitter.com/@whillman

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BillHillman1

 

Book Links:

Dream Searcher http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EC19DJW

Let’s Sue ‘Em http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009M9E790

Veronique and Murray: http://tinyurl.com/8xrmmu7

Zebra’s Rock and Me http://tinyurl.com/7b28qu6

Quigley’s Christmas Adventure http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ANVNQ6G

In development Veronique and Murray’s Honeymoon

Rollie Kemp Books

Ghosts and Phantoms Part I: http://tinyurl.com/6wxef7g

Ghosts and Phantoms Part II: http://tinyurl.com/d7mtspu

APRIL: http://tinyurl.com/7gt9prd

Bad Rap: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DNIHCYI

Hoax – Prematurely Terminated http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KUZY7AY

In editorial – Cheater

From the Second Floor #1

FROM THE SECOND FLOOR #1

Every other week I hope to create a new blog from the Second Floor. I hope to cover making movies, growing up, finance, acting, writing tips, and a bunch of stuff I have opinions on.

Today let’s talk about our country. Not politics – just the whole country.

It’s amazing how different things look when you can step away and watch from above where no one questions you or your decisions.

When you glance down giving the “all” an overview, you can’t stop from wondering when it happened and if we know it actually took place.

Of course, there are good and bad moments. You see them all. You hear good and bad as well, most of which are opinions and not worth repeating.

A simple walk down the sidewalk, any sidewalk will do. You share a smile with someone you don’t know and see the electricity, sparks, humor and excitement come to life.

When it rains, the earth receives a cleansing. That by itself is no big deal most think, but surprise its a huge deal. Flowers spruce up, trees sparkle, and lawns perk up and even change colors. Sidewalks get a bath, roadways are cleaned of debris and the earth receives renewed energy.

The most striking part is the people. Watching from above is truly amazing. The habits we fall into, the daily routines that create the mundane, and the trust given to total strangers who make the decisions which directly impact our daily lives. No one seems to care much about that. In fact, no one pays much attention to it at all until something dastardly happens. The daily life routine keeps the mind busy and away from thinking about problems that could directly change our personal lives.

Politics is fun to talk about, banter over and even argue about – but let’s not spoil this moment with such silliness. Politics is boring. Few agree about anything so let’s just look at things as they are.

I like to listen to kids talk. No, not eavesdrop or hear private moments. What I thoroughly enjoy hearing is how little they actually know about the important things and how much they know about trivial happenings. I’m not sure who is teaching our youth, but many are brain dead. By that, I mean very smart about songs and lyrics or what actor danced, sang a song or bite into someone’s throat, but don’t want to clutter the mind or use storage space to retain important dates, people, leaders or decisions. They have no idea who is running their country, but if he or she is handsome, that’s another story. If a personality is what kids call eye candy they might remember their name. It’s a bit scary.

I remember one of my teachers blabbing about such nonsense as the past. Countries that ignored what their leaders where doing and ended up collapsing. Say what? Leaders? Who were they? What do you mean they collapsed? I believe he said something about “ALL” great democracies committed financial suicide somewhere between 200 and 250 years after being founded. I remember thinking that’s dumb. No, it’s ridiculous. This is America. This is a free country that helps little ones survive. I laughed much like the kids do about important issues today.

Moving further on with my academics, I remember doing a little research. Few know the answer to this question, but what the heck I’ll throw it out anyway. When did the United States of America officially become a republic? Say what? What the hell is a republic? I asked my kids. They didn’t know. Well, not really or completely could explain the simple right answer. I asked the neighbor’s kids. They didn’t know either. I asked the clerk at the store, nope.

We have new two neighbors, one from Asia and one from Mexico. I decided to ask their children. Yep. They both knew the answer. What I heard was a republic is a country with representative government. Wow. What does that mean? I went back to the kids. Nope, no one had a clue.

I got concerned. Time to do more research.

How old was America? That question was easier. July 4th or something like Independence Day, you know Columbus and fireworks? Some guessed while other knew it was 1776. Now it doesn’t take a genius to figure out America is 238 years old. Suicide? Why would a country commit suicide when everything is running smoothly? It is running smoothly, isn’t it?

Okay, so things aren’t quite smooth, but we’re close aren’t we? Does close count? I mean, come on, this could get serious. Would anyone care? How many kids would think about this long enough to have sweaty palms? Probably not many.

More research and then I took a look at the fall of the Roman Empire. That’s a good example, right? Ask the kids. Okay, never mind. They don’t know. What about Greece, or some Middle Eastern country? What about Russian or China? Is anyone listening to this? Does anyone care? Not really. This is dull stuff. Where are the rock stars? Who’s acting in the next great blockbuster movie full of action? Who are the most handsome guys and sexy women around? Everyone knows the name of the good-looking quarterback or that dashing 7-foot guy who plays basketball don’t they? I mean who won American Idol or The Voice? Okay, back to research. Knowing this is dangerous and even if it’s just for me, it’s still worth looking at. No one cares I know. No one is listening, I know that too. And that makes me wonder if anyone will read this?

I just wanted to know the reason for the suicide. In a democracy where voters can vote for anyone – most don’t take the time to pick the best person – they choose based on good looks, witty personality, along party lines or the person’s sense of humor. I promised not to get political and I won’t. It’s not based on any party lines. The voters did it to themselves. They figured if they could vote for more money from the treasury that was the answer. So they found people who would give them more money and voted for them. Which party has nothing to do with it.

Free stuff is cool. Getting more free stuff could be even cooler. Until the free stuff cost more than the treasury has or can print. Oops. Hey, it can happen. Once the people getting free stuff outnumbers the people paying for the free stuff insurmountable problems happen. The money flow stops, the free stuff stays in boxes because there are no trucks to haul it around and no way to pay for the gas or drivers to distribute it. This spells failure and the overwhelming size of the failure creates thought lines of suicide. The republic can’t stand, can’t afford and, therefore, dies. Oh no. This isn’t good.

Looking back on history, just about every country that went bottoms up drifted thorough similar ordeals before they collapsed.

Now I’m not a doomsday nut case. I’m just saying when our youth lives carefreely and expect a free ride they will grow up into adults with the same mindset. Free is good until it’s all gone.

Is it too late, of course not? We just have to stop with all the free stuff and start charging for it Many people will most likely get angry and will throw a fit when you take their free toys away, but like children or pets, they will get over it. Honestly, they will learn to deal and soon make things better for themselves.
 
So, taking it all into consideration our country needs an adjustment. It’s not a huge deal it’s called tweaking. Engines run better after a mechanic fixes them, writers write to get better, actors do plays to hone their talent, singers sing often to keep the vocal cords alive and well and doctors take care of the sick so they can get better. The nation, our republic, is ill and is in need of medication. The medicine is, like any good parent, to put their foot down. If you want to lose weight, you have only two choices, diet or eat less. Both might work but eating less is the only positive that will work.

As voters, the next time we make a choice – do it right. Forget party lines. Chose the right person, the one who has your interest at heart. If he or she isn’t eye candy – so what? Do they care about you? If the answer is yes then, that’s your person.

Gosh, that was fun. We should do this again.

Smile richly, enjoy the life you’ve been given and share a hug often.
 
William Byron Hillman © 2014
 
Just released:
HOAX – Prematurely Terminated a thriller
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KUZY7AY
My next planned films are:
Quigley’s Christmas Adventure
www.quigley2.com
(Sequel to hit film Quigley)
And
Of Light and Darkness
Web announcements coming soon
 
On Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@QuigleyMovie
Website: http://www.williamhillman.com
Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/williamhillman
Twitter Page http://www.twitter.com/@whillman
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BillHillman1
 
Book Links:
Dream Searcher http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EC19DJW
Let’s Sue ‘Em http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009M9E790
Veronique and Murray: http://tinyurl.com/8xrmmu7
Zebra’s Rock and Me http://tinyurl.com/7b28qu6
Quigley’s Christmas Adventure http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ANVNQ6G
In development Veronique and Murray’s Honeymoon
Rollie Kemp Books
Ghosts and Phantoms Part I: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0056WR6I6
Ghosts and Phantoms Part II: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0056WR7YE
APRIL: http://tinyurl.com/7gt9prd
Bad Rap: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DNIHCYI
Hoax – Prematurely Terminated
  In editorial – Cheater