personal responsiblity on the air..my take

For about 10 years I was a part-time staff announcer on a small Christian radio station in Phoenix. I started as a volunteer, answering phones and pulling records for a Saturday morning music request program. After a while there I decided I would like to try my hand being on air so I contacted the general manager and started training with him and the station engineer. I worked mainly weekends and overnight and some evenings occasionally. I would run programs, do weather and news breaks, and even had some shifts when I could choose my own music and create commentary to tie it all together.

Since ours was a small listener-supported station we had no commercials, but did have a loyal following, many of whom would call, any time of day. Some would like to chat, or had a record request, or sometimes need advice for a personal crisis(especially on the overnight shifts). When the phone rang, it was my responsibility to answer it, be polite and helpful, being aware that I was representing the station (and God, since we were a Christian station). I took that very seriously, even when I was trying to do several things at once - run programs, pick music, record stuff for later broadcast -and check the news wire.

I was often the only person at the station during my shifts, so I operated the control board, took transmitter readings (making sure we were FCC-compliant), and kept records of what we played, all the while making the necessary on air announcements. One time we even had the power go out while I was doing a station ID break. The engineer happened to be there at the time, so I wasn't alone, but we still had to coordinate calling the airport to alert them our tower lights were out, get the backup generator running, and still answer the phones - people wanted to know why we weren't on the air.

All this came back to mind in the wake of Rush Limbaugh's vulgar and outrageous verbal attack on Sandra Fluke -a woman smeared with sexist slurs, whose only "crime" was a desire to testify before Congress about a matter important to her. It wasn't just the words he used, nor that he has a history of such remarks. The worst thing is that he apparently doesn't care what comes out of his mouth when he opens the mike, takes no responsibility for it, and obviously has no one that he feels he must answer to.

In my radio work I was very careful what I said on the air. Not only were our supporters listening, but our general manager was as well. If any one of us had uttered anything close to what Rush said (not that we ever would) we would have been promptly fired, no questions asked. Apparently Rush has no one in that position. Plus we were focused on giving encouragement to our listeners, not rile them up to "go on the attack"

The only thing worse than Rush's comments is the silence that followed them, from those who share his conservative beliefs. It really shouldn't matter what your politics is, common decency demands that you treat others as you would want to be treated, and speak up in protest when others cross the line. There are those on the left that I avoid or sample lightly because of their tendency to be vulgar or derogatory. And "false equivalency" comments are just a way to dodge speaking up.

I have never cared for Bill Maher for instance. "Politically incorrect" is a term I loath, because in my mind it is just a rationale to be rude. If we want to be taken seriously when we criticize bad behavior, we must criticize without taking political views into mind. When we were kids and got into trouble it was no use bringing up others bad deeds. All our parents were focused was correcting us, because we were under their roof.

Words matter and we should care about what we say, how we say it, and to whom (and about whom) we say them. Not just for legal reasons or FCC rules,etc, but just because cultivating civility is the right thing to do and helps build better communities, locally, nationally, and globally.

not my enemy

The presidential campaign and the sideshow that accompanies it has taken a turn towards the absurd. Some commentators have shown beyond a doubt that they have tin ears and blind eyes. It is one thing to be cynical but quite another to be inflexible. I don't think I have to name names, 'cause I think you know who I mean.

It is bad enough to view efforts to provide healthcare for all as dangerous or to portray seeking to have peacemaking a key component of our foreign policy as weakness. It is harmful to characterize calls for civility in our political discussions as censorship. But when an appeal from the president for teamwork and basic fairness is denounced as an appeal for class warfare we have reached the stone ear stage indeed.

We are all Americans, we are all in this together. I think we need to pause and remember that, no matter what our political, religious, or social views. We share this country, and we must remember to share. No one gets to hog it all and whoever is elected in November will be President of all and deserves our respect. That is the American way.

I am a Democrat. I believe in an active government, acting as "we the People" in carrying out the desires of the nation for a "more perfect Union", providing for the "common defense", and promoting the "general welfare" espoused in the Preamble to the Constitution. I believe we have a moral obligation to provide for those less fortunate and not hold ourselves aloof and simply blame them for "not trying hard enough". And I believe that government is "us",not some distant "other" to be feared, opposed, or "limited".

As such I obviously have serious differences with all of the GOP presidential candidates and their supporters in media and in elected office. I will work to oppose their efforts and argue against their positions. But, and this is a very big "but', they are not my enemy. We are not in a war, not for the "soul of America" nor for"civilization", and I refuse to portray our political disagreements in such militaristic terms.

Even when others may slip into that mode, I refuse. If the (to my mind) unthinkable happens and a Republican wins the White House I will respect them as President , just as I have any other President. I will have discussions with those with whom I disagree in a spirit of mutual respect. I will walk away from, but not demean, those who seek fights and refuse to even listen to opposing views. I may brand opposing views as absurd when warranted, but will work to refrain from making personal attacks. As I have said before, we are all Americans and we must all work together for what is best for everyone.

This holds true for our actions in the world. Make no mistake, we have real enemies out there, folks who have taken up arms against us and would seek to do us harm. We must actively oppose that. But we must not go around looking for trouble, nor brand those nations who may differ with us on policies as "not our friends" (like the attitudes of many in the US toward France and Germany over the Iraq war). For those of us who hold to faith in God we have a divine mandate to "seek peace and pursue it" and "as much as it depends on you, live at peace with all men". Blessings are called out for peacemakers, not warmongers, and we should not take that lightly. We all must "share" this world.

Set your "weapons" down and let's all work together to make this nation, and our world, be the best it can be, where nobody goes hungry, or sick,or homeless, or friendless. We all can make a difference...if only we try.