Talk

There’s always more to the story. canstockphoto2108072

A Malaysian plane disappeared and for weeks we didn’t know where it was. That was the story. There was not a lot more to tell. Sure, there was a back story that needed to be investigated and maybe that would lead us to find where it went, but for the most part, the story didn’t change. A plane was missing and we didn’t know why, how, exactly where or when it happened.

Yet the speculation over the phenomena occupied around the clock proposition of theories. Experts from around the globe were commenting and people are shaking their heads tsk-sking others as if this could have been foreseen or prevented. Perhaps, many said, it could have been avoided. The reveal that was occurring with each passing day showed possible errors in the checking of passports and clues that were not followed. But the talk of all the TV talkers was nothing more than the banter you hear on sports talk radio. “Do you think the plane will be found?” “Oh, absolutely--there is no doubt.”  “Do you think the Browns will make the playoffs?” “Oh absolutely--there is no doubt.”

See? Neither of these commentators know what they are talking about! They’re JUST ... TALKING.

And when comparing all of this noise to talk radio, the key word that should be gleaned is just that--talk. Talk that has no foundation.  Talk that has no weight. Talk that pours from the mouths of the uninformed.

Not just about the missing plane, but about everything. See the news about the plane wasn’t about what happened. We didn’t know what happened. All we could do is talk about what might have happened or better yet what might happen next. We tuned in and turned on to line up for this silly line of baloney like we were begging for it while the gatekeepers of knowledge performed their meaningless lines in front of a jam-packed arena audience.

Up until the 10 a.m. press conference on March 24, 2014 when Malaysian officials stepped to the microphone and validated that they believe the plane scattered into the Indian Ocean, we had decided all kinds of wild tales were to blame. The lithium battery story was gaining momentum on that morning of the 24th; lithium that was to be rerouted to foreign lands to build bombs. As quickly as all those theories were killed off by finding the plane, the posturing started all over but with a fresh slant.

What if the plane’s parts recovery was a fake and this resolution is all a lie?

What if some terrorist sympathizers forced a detour of that plane, planted some decoy parts of another plane and then hid the Malaysian plane and are now turning it into a bomb?

Why didn’t anyone see the plane if it flew so low and then crashed into the sea?

And on and on it goes.  The professional opinion guests are all lined up and the speculation begins anew.

* * sigh * *

This is not about a plane. This is not about news. This is about a mindset we have come to accept where what we know (or what we think we know) is delivered to us with so little of our own effort that we blindly accept the easiest to digest version of everything.

The plane is missing. It crashed into the sea.

Russia is invading. Putin is out of control.

Affordable health care is struggling. It’s the computer programs.

I just have to believe this pattern is going to back up on us someday.  There’s always more to the story.

Ron Ciancutti is the Director of Procurement for Cleveland Metroparks. He is not on Facebook, but he can be reached at rdc@clevelandmetroparks.com .