pundits

"I'll tell you what autism is. In 99% of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out."

Those are the words of Michael Savage, a neo-Con pundit who often makes overly-generalized statements that have no element of truth. He enjoys the controversy and the media hype, which is why I don't like him. . . or Al Franken or Rush Limbaugh or Michael Moore. On the left or the right, I have a difficult time with the one-sided ranting.

I think that's why I like NPR. I feel like I hear both sides and debate exists, because of the sense of civility NPR creates. It's not that I don't like one-sided ranting. I'm guilty of it in the education arena. It's hard to be passionate about something and not turn into a pundit.

Still, here is my list of why I don't like pundits:

1. They almost never admit that they are wrong. When Rush Limbaugh blasts drug addicts and checks into drug rehab, it makes him a hypocrite. I can handle a little hypocrisy. What bothers me is that he won't face up to it. Nor will Bill O'Reilly admit that he lied about winning the Peabody Award and I still haven't heard Al Franken apologize for calling Andy Rooney a child molestor.


2. They get so wrapped up in their side that they won't admit the logic of another side or the slight chance that there could be some element of paradox. Maybe I'm just too post-modern, but the world is almost never that black and white.


3. Pundits go beyond their realm of expertise. I can rant and rave about education, because I am an educator. It seems a little arrogant to me to make bold, statistical claims about autism when one is not a part of the medical community.


4. Pundits resort to overly emotional arguments and name-calling to the point of propaganda. Yet, many of them refuse to engage in an intellectual debate.


5. Pundits take themselves too seriously. I can handle someone making outrageous remarks. It's why I like Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert. However, they can laugh at themselves; which, in the long run makes them more effective. Guys like Michael Savage can't seem to laugh at themselves.

I mention this, because it scares me sometimes. I can see (in all five of the areas) a personal tendency toward this - to be overly emotional, to feel qualified to comment about everything, to take myself too seriously and to make excuses rather than apologies.