It snuck up on us, while we weren’t paying attention. Like a frog in a pot of hot water, the temperature slowly got turned up. 24 hour news became much less about news and much more about opinion. Divides were widened, old wounds re-opened. Social media made us all experts and let us shout at each other without having to deal with the awkwardness of actual face to face contact. The genie is out of the bottle now. Can we put it back in?
Two Sides
copyright 2020 Steve Smith (SOCAN)
If there are two sides to every story
How can both of them be wrong?
When the media rules the message
The conclusion is foregone
If we like the taste that’s offered
We can pick and choose the best
We can consume what we agree with
And to Hell with all the rest
Left and Right, black and white
Right is wrong and wrong is right
When breaking news has broken down
We find ourselves just … spinning round
Just spinning round…
If there are two sides to every story
Where are the spaces in between?
Now opinions overtaking
Our reality TV screens
We key in to the sound bite
That’s music to our ears
We can focus on the best one
And let the rest just disappear
East and West, red and blue
Unfriend me and I’ll unfriend you
When everything thing comes crashing down
And we find ourselves just … spinning round
Just spinning round…
If there are two sides to every story
Why do we widen the divide?
When we just can’t help a brother
Cause we can’t see eye to eye
We thrive on confrontation
Who can swing that blade the best?
Put your money on the winner
And to Hell with all the rest
To Hell with all the rest
Night and day, wrong and right
Why should we care who’s black or white?
As rainbows fade to shades of gray
And decency just melts away
Just melts away….