Radiography

Three radio stations are in constant rotation in my car radio and on my live stream Iphone radio: KPFK, a non profit, liberal radio station, KCLU, which is a local progressive radio station connected to NPR and KRLA, an ultra right-wing conservative radio station. You might be asking yourself why would a self proclaimed Liberal such as myself listen to right-wing conservative rhetoric, well it can be summed up in one phrase: "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer." Although, I strongly disagree with over 99.9% of every host on KRLA and I often find myself with deep seeded anger listening to their skewed, narrow, exclusionary views; it is nevertheless entertaining to say the least. It seems that the entire Radio station was created to discredit President Barrack Obama and the under represented minorities in this country and abroad. The sheer disrespect of our Nation's President is enough to scream treason. I often find myself completely tensing up in agonizing disgust, but I can not stop listening.

I felt compelled to write this particular post while listening to KRLA in the midst of their favorite topic of government"hand outs" and "entitlements" afforded to "the lazy" and "uneducated" in reference to Medicare, Medicaid, Planned Parenthood and even Social Security Benefits to name a few.  In the middle of my eager listening and contempt, my rage was interrupted by a commercial break.  Wanting to feed my desire for more contempt, I found myself slightly irritated by the commercial interruptions.  It was then that I realized that the other two constant radio stations that I listen to (KPFK and KCLU) do not have commercial breaks as they are completely supported and contributed to by their listeners.  The striking connection between "hand outs" and community powered media, in which the listener is privileged to receive non stop information, struck me.  Here we have a conservative station who repeatedly criticizes government programs that help the less fortunate, dependent on other companies and products in order to stay on the air and are therefore reliant upon them; henceforth, creating bias.  This media bias could be compared to the same bias we see between politics and its relationship to lobbying, which has created a huge distrust among United States citizens for our Government.  Stagnated by differing ideologies, one of the "haves" and "have-nothings" these three radio stations are tiny microcosms of the entire populous in which the elite believe they did so on their own and anyone else, was too lazy and therefore deserves no assistance.  The arrogance held by the elite conservative right, has neglected the fact that the United States has thrived as a result of receiving over 400 years of free labor, what country would not become a world power under such circumstances.

Perhaps, if it were possible to truly understand that in the end we are all one people, one race, one energy operating at the same time, we could realize that what we give, we get to keep.  That if our fists are clinched, not only are we not open to give, but we are no longer open to receive.  Let us begin to exist beyond the confines of our past and live knowing that the present moment is one in which all things have already been given and what was truly given, cannot be taken away.  For there is more than enough to go around, in, out, up and down.