Do you really care?
THE WORD around journalism schools these days is that most of what goes into newspapers is irrelevant.
People don't care who wins an election or what our officials do. It's not as if any of it is going to affect their lives or that their voices will really count. So why bother?
"News," to these people, means listening to comedy routines or following talk shows whose views of the news are so intentionally slanted, right or left, that they would be comic if they weren't so tragic.
Do you really care?
Relay for Life raised thousands more this year than last. Were you out there walking — or, better yet, donating? And why was it that it took all manner of hard work from walkers and organizers to get you to donate to what you already knew was a worthy cause?
Are you sad or happy to see that Florence no longer will be providing garbage pickup at the county lake? For 22 years it picked up the trash at a ridiculously low price. As soon as it tries to raise its rates, Marion steps in with a lower bid and wins the contract. That's good for Marion and maybe even the county. It's even proof how government can be more efficient than private enterprise, which submitted a much higher bid. But it's not so good for Florence, and Florence could use some good news.
The county, meanwhile, wants to hire someone to do economic development or maybe even be county manager. Good idea or bad? If it works, it's good. The county needs professional management as badly as its cities do, and the cities no longer can afford to compete separately to lure business. But do we really need another high-dollar official, one whose salary seems possible mainly because there's money left over in the budget?
More sales tax revenue — good news or bad? Do we have a stronger local economy, or are we just paying higher prices? And does anyone — particularly those who rail about tax cuts for the rich — care that sales taxes hit hardest the people with the least ability to pay them?
The school year is rapidly upon us. Do we care as much about what will happen in the classroom as we do on the athletic field? Do we praise multitalented educators as much for being gifted teachers as we do for being gifted coaches? Do you ever wonder whether, if forced to choose, one would become solely a teacher or solely a coach? It's a question worth asking.
Speaking of sports and questions, why does the country club cost so much to join? It needs money to have nice facilities, but how do you balance that against the need to serve the whole community, not just a financial elite?
Any given page of this newspaper could have made you think about questions like these.
Did you? Do you really care? Or are you talking instead about some movie you watched last night, what the prospects are for K-State football and KU basketball, and whether pupils should or shouldn't be made to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
Pledge your allegiance to caring. We'll try to give you plenty to care about.
— ERIC MEYER
