Media savvy

THANKS to the wonders of the Internet, we now have easy access to many things, among them, newspapers and magazines. We don’t have to subscribe to local and foreign papers to be able to read them.

At the moment, for example, I’m very happy to get almost daily dosage of news, opinion columns, articles on arts, business, sports, etc. from Google News, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, The Economist, CNN, Fox News, Drudge Report, and an endless etcetera, not to mention the local ones.

With this exposure, I’m certain we are also forming many views and opinions, and we slowly discern the various underpinnings, political, ideological, religious, and otherwise, that the media outfits have.

I personally find it very interesting to compare opinions, styles, approaches, and see how they play out. There’s thrill always in observing the flashes of genius as different writers argue and often clash.

Also I want to fish, even if only tentatively, the different trends and biases the different papers can have. These considerations always shed some light that makes things more understandable.

Almost automatically, several categories emerge in the mind as I instinctively try to sort out, classify, brand and label the different positions. Among these categories are the conservative/liberal, right/left, open-minded/close-minded, serious/commercialized.

I know there can be many other categories, in fact, endless ones, as we go along and discover further nuances in the growing array of pieces of media information. This only proves that we are involved in a very dynamic world where seemingly infinite events take place.

But there’s one aspect that seems to be neglected. The effort to find spiritual and religious significance to secular events appears to be absent. This aspect is still a virgin forest, waiting to be explored. This can be a fruitful niche for some enterprising writers with the proper attitude and skills.

Not that there had been no attempts in this direction. There had been. But so far, they can be characterized as either too shallow and abstract, a bit distant and off-the-mark, or too politicized, partisan and downright wildly ballistic.

The latter kind is particularly jarring, as they can bristle with a righteousness that’s more self-generated than inspired by God and the common good. Along the way, we can notice traces of narrow-mindedness, exaggerated attachment to ancient views and all sorts of one-sidedness.

In the end, they at best only preach to the choir. They fail to catch the attention of a sober audience. Worse, they alienate many people. Truly sad!

For sure, it is not an easy thing to do, but I believe that if we have to be consistent to our Christian faith, then there must be some relation between these events and our religion. We have to be wary of just allowing the discussion of issues to flow in strictly human and natural terms.

This effort to link and connect is, I believe, a worthwhile enterprise and one that is crying to be made, if only to correct an anomaly that temporal events have no spiritual or supernatural dimension at all. I think the time is ripe to highlight this angle.

This should not mean that the events can only have one meaning or interpretation. Christian spirit does not allow a monolithic view of things. There can be many, and they can even be conflicting, but at least, they should have some spiritual or religious character. This is what is lacking in the present trend.

Some training in this area is, of course, necessary. And I believe we already have enough materials to support writers and thinkers who can contribute in this direction. The Church already has the Compendium of Social Doctrine and a constellation of literature that can truly be of help.

Besides, there are now schools that try to blend theology with the secular sciences and our temporal affairs. This is also another good development. Ecclesiastical sciences are trying to pace with world developments.

Obviously prudence and discernment should be strictly practiced. But this requirement should not be taken to mean that we hardly move or always keep a distant attitude to events. The spiritual and supernatural character of religion should, in fact, take a leading role in them.

This, I believe, is what constitutes a true media savvy which everyone should aspire. It may need a large war chest to attain this goal, but I think it’s all worthwhile.