Separating the fiction from the fictitious
Filtering out the batcrap from the real news is sometimes a chore. Tonight, the capsule from Europe on the news shows a new-century version of the Cold War in the making. Or is it? The whole blur of disinformation in the media is troubling, because we can’t tell if there is anything more than posturing for an ill-informed public taking place.
Earlier this evening, we watched a movie that changed locale from Miami to Cuba. Part of some drug cartel plot involving far too much hardware and intrigue to be amusing. But my son asked a pointed question: how would they get a Hummer if they were in a country under economic embargo? Not those words, but let’s carry on. I had him do a quick wikisearch for Gitmo, which provides a capsule of historical information.
And then I had to pause, because none of the details in the movie were part of my own experience. I have lots of acquired knowledge about other places that comes only from the TV world we live in. I don’t know if a Hummer would be found in Cuba, nor does it matter. I was trying to separate the fiction from the fictitious in a movie.
How different is that from the posturing reported in the news? I don’t know if there is a return to a Cold War in Europe; I only know what the media tells me. I am as informed as the next wikieditor on such things.
