It's still true that no one ever went broke underestimating American ignorance

"Powell shouldn’t expect too many attaboys from the press. Good news does not sell as well as hysteria."

Jennifer Rubin commentary on Dec. 15, 2023

Not to be hopelessly repetitive and naive, but this is a good week to remind ourselves that it is human nature, and certainly the nature of news reporting, to place more attention on bad news than good news. The quote above refers to the media not giving Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell much credit for the American economy closing in on recovering from the pandemic disruptions without going into recession.

Inflation has cooled from over 9 percent to just above 3 percent over the past six months. Mortgage rates have dipped, if only slightly, with prospects for further decreases. Gasoline prices have plunged, with steady per gallon reductions over several months. 

If the common wisdom of people voting in accord with their pocketbooks holds, President Biden should be coasting to reelection and the national mood should be at least cautiously optimistic. He is not doing any coasting, of course, and the national mood continues to be dark and dangerous.

Of course there is a lot of bad news, from war in Ukraine to war in Gaza to antisemitism on some campuses and in lots of the broader country. Men continue to exert power over women in any way they can, with the latest battlegrounds being over abortion restrictions. In Texas, for example, it appears that a woman may obtain an abortion only after she faces death (and maybe simply dies). I guess the ultimate power over women is to deny them their lives. Men are under some pressure to stop assaulting women, though that will never end, leaving abortion restrictions a nice option for males who thirst for any sort of power over others.

The press will continue to report on all the bad news and should do that, of course. Ignorance really is NOT bliss. But wouldn't it be nice to see some headlines that might help balance some of the original coverage that focused on disaster and discord and doom (hey, that's a lot of "d" words)?

I read that a majority of Americans polled say that their own personal economic situation is fine, and their neighborhood seems OK... but what about the country?

I also read that most Americans with children enrolled in public schools are very supporting of their schools and teachers and educational goals more generally. Most of the negative views are from the childless and the elderly who have not had much, if any, connection with schools in many years. 

I'm not sure how to confront or persuade people who are content to spout all sorts of unsupported claims, most based on sheer ignorance. Cable news and Russian bots provide the tribal connections the ignorant need to maintain their fictional positions. 

My hope is that, eventually, reality and truth are revealed. When Americans see that they are actually doing OK (did you see that the stock market just reached a record high?), that the government is working to support a wide range of issues and people, and that all the made-up culture wars have nothing to do with them, isn't it time to dial down the outrage and anger?