We used to read, and we used to understand what was happening

"It's too much for me. I just can't understand it anymore. I just try not to think about it."
-- Allen Drury, PRESERVE AND PROTECT, 1968

If you have ever read Drury's six-book series that started with the Pulitzer Prize winning "Advise and Consent" in the late '50s and ended with nuclear war in the mid '70s, you probably will remember that by the second half of the series, the media had become a favorite target of the author.

The above quote, from the fourth book in the series, says almost all that needs to be said about why the media have become so powerful. Average people just don't have the time, the energy of for the most part the education to keep up.

It doesn't say why the media have become so bad.

That's a much sadder and stranger story.

There are villains, but no heroes, and the story says a great deal about why so many things in our society are declining, not least of them the understanding of average Americans of how life works in the 21st century.

I need to state my prejudice in this up front. I love newspapers and have subscribed to at least one daily newspaper for almost my entire adult life. I have always believed that if you want to know what's happening and why, and if you don't have the time to investigate for yourself, the only real way to be knowledgeable is to read newspapers.

Let's start with some numbers, courtesy of Bob Greene's "Late Edition: A Love Story."

The first number explains something called "penetration," a number that describes what percentage of American households read newspapers. In 1950, that number was 123 percent.

"Huh? How could it be 123 percent?"

In 1950, not only did most households have a newspaper delivered, a large number of people subscribed to more than one paper. Maybe one was a big city paper and another a small local one, or maybe one came in the morning and another in the evening. People had choices, in 1950, most decent-sized cities had two or more papers. Big cities had many more. Cities with large immigrant populations often had more than one German-language paper, or Italian paper. You get the picture.

Enter the first villain.

The year 1950 was when television started sweeping the country. All of a sudden, when you came home from work to read your evening paper, there was competition from that little box. Reading began to decline, and not just newspapers. Why read a book when you can watch Uncle Miltie, Sid and Imogene or that crazy redhead instead?

By 1964, nearly every home in America had a television set. Even so, 80.8 percent of adults still read a newspaper. A lot of this was people just living the way they had always lived.

But their kids weren't picking up the habit. By 2007, the number had dropped to 48.4 percent, and much of that number came from adults 55 and older. Only a third of adults under 34 had the habit.

The penetration numbers were falling fast too. By 2004, only 49 percent of households were still getting a newspaper.

By then the second villain had come of age. The Gannett newspaper chain changed the business forever with the launch of USA TODAY in 1982. All of a sudden, stories were much shorter, pictures much larger and layouts much gaudier.

Stories that had been 500 words long were 150 in this new incarnation. It didn't even look like a newspaper, and of course all the real newspapers jumped to imitate it.

All through the '80s and '90s, more and more papers were failing. Most cities found themselves with only one paper and no competition.

Then the third and final villain showed up. There are certainly good things to be said about the Internet, but you won't be ready them today in this space. When people started reading newspapers online for free, all of a sudden it became far more difficult to sell advertising. And without advertising, budgets went all to hell.

Newspapers started cutting back everywhere they could and in some cases they lost their souls. One of the first things to vanish was hard-core investigative journalism. It just cost too much. In fact, some papers gave in completely and started allowing sources to cover themselves.

Sound horrible? The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, which used to be a pretty good paper, eliminated its print edition and went Internet only. The P-I cut its staff of reporters, editors and photographers from 166 to about 30. City departments it was no longer profitable to cover were invited to send in press releases the paper could use.

It didn't help that more than 90 percent of all U.S. media was owned by a handful of corporations who saw no real point in competing when there was plenty of money to be made by sitting back and relaxing.

It didn't help that putting stories on laptops, tablets, smart phones made it much less likely that people would read long stories. Nicholas Carr's book, "The Shallows," points out that the more people use the Internet, the less likely they are to be able to absorb long stories or complex information.

We truly are becoming shallower.

And as it becomes more and more difficult to think, we become more like the character in Drury's book who says simply, "It's too much for me. I just can't understand it anymore. I just try not to think about it."

And that means that the people who do understand it, who make a point of understanding it and try to think about it as much as they can, they'll do just fine.

Especially with a media that cares a lot more about Justin Bieber or Miley Cyrus than it does fracking or outsourcing jobs.

Say good night, America.

Sweet dreams.

If you're looking for truth, don't overlook the obvious answer

Editor's note: Several years ago, on an earlier Website, I wrote this. I think it still holds true today.

***

"… and the lonely voice of youth cries, 'What is truth?'"
– JOHNNY CASH, 1968

If there’s one answer I could give to that question, it would be that truth is something almost everyone thinks they know, but very few of us actually do.

There are certainly plenty of folks on both sides of the political divide who will tell you they know the truth and they’ll be happy to share it with you, but truth through one side or the other of the political spectrum is usually lacking.

Truth isn’t really about politics, anyway.

Regardless of what folks on the left or the right will tell you, they don’t have all the answers. That doesn’t mean they don’t have any answers, though, and taking a "plague on both your houses" approach rarely accomplishes very much.

Truth? I know a few things that might qualify as basic truths, and one of them is that love is at the heart of everything. It’s why Jesus boiled the 10 commandments of the Old Testament down to what he called the two great commandments — love God and love your neighbor.

That’s a basic truth. If you strive to love God and love your neighbor, and put those two goals ahead of everything else, you’ll probably be a fairly happy person.

It’s why if I fall anywhere on the political spectrum, it’s to the left of center because I believe we have a responsibility to help the less fortunate among us. It’s why I believe in a progressive income tax, and in an estate tax that limits the vast wealth that can be passed down from parents who earned it to children who didn’t do anything except belong to the Lucky Sperm Club.

I’d rather see a government that represents me helping children from poor families — it isn’t their fault their parents are poor — than giving more and more tax incentives to the wealthy to send jobs overseas.

Overly simplistic? Sure, but there are very few of us who don’t oversimplify things. One of the great heroes of the right wing in the ’80s was Margaret Thatcher, who said that there were really no such things as communities, that there were really only individuals and families.

That’s certainly one way of looking at it. If we assume that everyone will act in their own interest, we are at least able to predict what they will do. But to view the world that way, we have to ignore the possibility that we contain any spark of the divine, any basic goodness.

I don’t know how Thatcher would explain the Gandhis, the Mother Teresas; maybe her theory only covers the world of politics.

So what is truth?

To me, anyway, the most basic truth there is involves love. Love, whether it’s for God, friends, family or neighbors, ennobles us in a way nothing else can.

GOP anger over Benghazi shows just how hypocritical they are

For nearly a year and a half, conservatives have been trying to stir up anger over what happened at Benghazi, Libya. No matter what they tell you, they have just one purpose -- to damage the Obama administration.

What happened at Benghazi on Sept. 11, 2012, was tragic. Four American diplomats died when Muslims attacked the consulate, and Republicans immediately began using the issue to try and change the momentum of the presidential campaign.

It didn't work, of course, because no matter what Republicans think, they haven't managed to dumb voters down enough to believe them,

Four dead in Libya was tragic, but there had been 60 people killed in eight attacks during the previous administration and not one Republican had even said a word about it.

No one lost their job, no one stood trial and there were no Congressional investigations either. My two adult children both serve in the Foreign Service, and while they accept the dangers of their chosen profession, neither one of them were especially disturbed by what happened in Libya.

Despite the lack of anger from the professionals, Republicans still decided to have the proverbial cow. The way they overreached and hyperbolized on the subject would have been humorous except that they were so sincere about it.

Some of it may have been racism, but my guess is that most of it is that they simply cannot understand why Americans would elect a Democrat president.

Of course, Democrats have won four of the last six presidential elections, and they have actually won the popular vote in five of the last six.

In a way, it's almost as if reality has driven them crazy. They say Democrats are buying votes with entitlement programs and they have turned the whole divide into a ridiculous "makers vs. takers" thing in which the only real Americans are on their side.

The problem with that track is that when you start looking at it that way, the next steps get worse and worse.

First is taking away their votes, which we're already hearing from people like the billionaire who said that if someone pays a million dollars in taxes, he should get a million votes.

Once they've lost their votes you start taking away their rights and eventually their freedom. Of course that doesn't always happen, but once you start demonizing your opposition as the "other," it becomes all too easy to dehumanize them.

And that is definitely not the American way.

In his twilight years, Carolina's Smith still showing tremendous class

At some point in our lives, we come to a time when life takes more away from us than it gives us.

Older family members pass on, entertainers we enjoyed die, in some instances even the paradigm changes.

I spent the decade of my thirties between marriages, working as a sportswriter and traveling around the country covering games. Much of my travel was for college basketball. I traveled around the Big Eight covering Missouri basketball and around the Big Sky covering Nevada.

I covered NCAA regionals in Providence, Charlotte, Atlanta, Kansas City, Ogden, Salt Lake City and Oakland. I covered Final Fours in Lexington and Dallas.

In all that time, I don't think I ever met a better coach -- or a better man -- than Dean Smith of North Carolina.

Michael Jordan & Smith

He started coaching at Carolina in 1961, and it was his second season when my family moved from Ohio to Virginia and I became a fan of Atlantic Coast Conference basketball. Since I wasn't a Tar Heel fan, I wasn't fond of their coach. But no one was better and no one was more successful. Carolina was always a title contender.

I saw amazing games once I started working. In 1983 at Carmichael Coliseum  in Chapel Hill, No. 1 Virginia played the No. 2 Heels. The Cavaliers were playing great, and with about eight minutes left they had a 62-47 lead.

Michael Jordan led Carolina's comeback to a 63-62 victory. It might have been the best game I ever saw.

The last time I saw Coach Smith was 1989, when the Nevada team I was covering came all the way across the country to play UNC at the brand new Dean E. Smith Center.

He coached through the 1997 season, retiring with 879 victories and two national championships. Four years ago, his family announced he was suffering from a "progressive neurocognitive disorder," although they did not identify it as Alzheimer's.

There is one thing about Smith that a lot of people don't realize, and that is that he is an exceptionally fine man. He worked for desegregation in the '60s, opposed the Vietnam War and the death penalty and supported a nuclear freeze.

Celebrating

The excellence he created at Carolina has endured. The Tar Heels won national titles in 2005 and 2009 under Roy Williams, and only the amazing success of Duke under Mike Krzyzewski has kept them from the No. 1 position.

There is a wonderful story on ESPN.com today by veteran writer Tommy Tomlinson, that I would urge everyone to read. "Precious Memories" tells Smith's story from present to past.

I have my own Smith story, though, one I will never forget.

It was March 1986, and the Missouri team I was covering was one of eight teams playing in an NCAA subregional in Ogden, Utah. The Tigers lost to Alabama-Birmingham 66-64 in the first round. I was staying for the rest of the weekend, and the day between rounds was a press conference for the four winners from the first round.

The big story that year was that North Carolina's seniors were the first senior class under Smith who had never been to a Final Four. I was the reporter who asked the question.

"Are you guys feeling the pressure from all the talk about Final Fours?"

Surprisingly, Smith interrupted. He said it wasn't a fair question. "How many other teams here have been to the Final Four the last four years?"

Louisville had, but I let it pass. My question didn't get answered.

The next day Carolina crushed Alabama-Birmingham 77-59. After the press conference, Dean Smith came looking for me.

"I owe you an apology," he said.

I was stunned. "Coach, you don't owe me anything."

He shook his head. "Your question the other day was a good question, a fair one. I interrupted because I'm really trying to keep the pressure off my seniors."

All I could say was "Thank you very much."

That was the day I realized Dean Smith wasn't just a great coach, he was a great man as well.

Read Tomlinson's story.

It may just break your heart.

Out of nowhere, a chance to be part of the goofiness that is Springfield

I always liked "The Simpsons," even though I was never a faithful watcher.

I don't do "appointment television" anymore. Any show I find worth watching is worth waiting until it's on DVD, so that I can watch it at my own pace and without having to sit through commercials. The last show I remember watching when it was actually on was one of the final seasons of "24."

The Simpsons

I have certainly watched episodes, but I can't remember ever thinking it was 8 o'clock on Sunday and I ought to watch it.

Part of the problem is that it just has been on too long. I remember about 12 years ago someone interviewed Matt Groening, the show's creator, about how much longer he thought the show would last.

He said he thought they had enough good ideas for two or three years, and then "we'll probably be able to milk another couple of years out of it."

Well, 25 years is a helluva run, and I don't think this is the last season for Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie. But the show is still fun, and they have done a great job of merchandizing.

Before

Then there is the stuff way out on the periphery. I was goofing around on the Internet the other night and I found an artist -- from Pakistan, I believe -- who for $5 would turn me into a "Simpsons" character. Well, not me actually. A photo of me.

So I paid the money and sent my photo.

I didn't know what to expect, and when the drawing came, my first reaction was that I don't look like that. But when I started comparing the photo I had sent with the artwork done from it, I realized that feature by feature it was pretty good.

Figuring a little leeway for the transition from photograph to cartoon, I knew I had gotten my money's worth.

After

The one big discrepancy -- one that was certainly fine with me -- is that in the photo, taken in November 2010, you see a 60-year-old man. The cartoon character taken from that photo looks to me like someone who has yet to celebrate his 30th birthday.

Of course, I have no idea where he would fit into the "Simpsons" cast. Too old to hang out with Bart, too young to sit and drink with Homer.

No big deal.

It is definitely fun to be from Springfield.

George Takei has turned out to be the real hero of 'Star Trek'

When I first started watching "Star Trek" -- reruns in the 1970s -- the last thing I would ever have imagined was that the most significant person on the show would turn out to be the guy who played Lieutenant Sulu.

George Takei couldn't have had higher than fifth or sixth billing, and he didn't even play a significant role in every show. But he has had an amazing career as an actor, and more important, he has become a wonderful spokesman for civil rights.

Takei was born in 1937 in Los Angeles. After Pearl Harbor, he and his family were interned at Rohwer War Relocation Center in southeastern Arkansas, just across the state line from Mississippi.  Since his parents refused to take a loyalty vow, they were relocated and spent the rest of the war at Tule Lake on the edge of the Mojave Desert in California.

George Takei as Sulu

Some people age badly, but Takei has matured into a strong battler for the underdog. He was one of the first Californians to be married after the state's ban on gay marriage was overturned in 2008., and he spoke out last week when the fate of an Arizona bill allowing discrimination against gay people hung in the balance.

Even more important, he has become a spokesman against bullying of both gay and straight kids.

One wonderful moment occurred in November 2010, when he responded to an anti-gay school board member in Arkansas who said he hoped more gay teenagers would kill themselves or give each other AIDS.

While he recorded a statement to bigot Clint McCance that lasted several minutes, it came down to four words:

"You are a douchebag."



It's nice to see someone who isn't afraid to speak out.

It's wonderful to see Virginia basketball meaningful again

In the 16 years I spent as a sportswriter, one of the most fascinating moments came in March 1984 about 40 miles from where I live now.

It was at The Omni, an arena that no longer exists in Atlanta, and it was the East Region semifinals of the NCAA basketball tournament. Virginia was seventh-seeded in the region, and had slipped through the first two rounds with a 58-57 win over Iona and a 53-51 upset of second-seeded Arkansas.

For the previous four seasons, the Cavaliers had been a powerhouse with 7-foot-4 center Ralph Sampson. Except for a victory in the National Invitation Tournament in 1980, the other three seasons had ended disappointingly. Virginia had made it to the Final Four only once, and there had been no NCAA titles.

In 1984, not much was expected. The other three teams in the regional were unbeaten and top-ranked North Carolina, third-seeded Syracuse and fourth-seeded Indiana. In the first of the two semifinals, Virginia had kept it going, beating Syracuse 63-55 to reach the final.

In the postgame press conference, a reporter asked Virginia Coach Terry Holland if his team's unexpected accomplishment was something of a vindication for the last three years.

Terry Holland, second from right

Holland smiled. "You know, I wasn't as bad a coach as you guys said I was the last three years, and I'm not as good a coach as you'll say I am now."

The best quote I ever heard from a coach.

Their run wasn't over. After the Hoosiers upset the Michael Jordan-led Tar Heels, Virginia beat Indiana 50-48 in the finals to earn a spot in the Final Four in Seattle.

The Cavaliers were a heavy underdog against a Houston team led by Akeem Olajuwon, but they gave Houston all it could handle before losing 49-47 in overtime.

They have never made it back to the Final Four, although they came within one victory in 1989 and 1995 and won another NIT title in 1992. They have had eight seasons since 1984 in which they were no better than .500, and they have been to the NCAA tournament only four times since 1995.

They're just not a team people think about when they think of college powerhouses, although Coach Tony Bennett has been working to change that since coming to Charlottesville five years ago.

Virginia was ranked near the bottom of the top 25 in preseason polls and was picked to finish in the top four in the Atlantic Coast Conference. They started slowly, though, and after a humiliating 87-52 loss at Tennessee in late December, the Cavs were just 9-4.

Virginia-Syracuse

But everything changed when the ACC season started. They won their next three games -- two on the road -- by an average of 22 points. They nearly upset Duke in Durham, and didn't lose again. They didn't just win, they dominated, and on Saturday, 12th-ranked Virginia played host to No. 4 Syracuse with the conference title on the line.

The Orangemen had been top-ranked nationally for much of the season, and they managed to lead 28-27 at halftime. But just as they have done all season, the Cavaliers dominated after halftime and went on to a stunning 75-56 victory.

So Virginia  is 25-5 and 16-1 in the ACC and almost certainly will be ranked in the top 10 nationally in the next poll. Regardless of what happens in the conference tournament in two weeks, a high seeding in the NCAA tournament should be theirs.

Bennett has them playing defense as well as anyone in the country. They lead the nation in scoring defense, and they have a surprisingly varied and effective offense.

I have been a fan of Virginia basketball for nearly 50 years. They're really just about the only sports team I care about no matter how good or bad they are. I didn't graduate from there, but it was the first college in my 14-year odyssey. I was excited when George Mason made its run to the Final Four in 2006, but the bad season they're having this year doesn't really bother me.

But all the years, all the memories of Barry Parkhill, Wally Walker, Jeff Lamp, Lee Raker, Sampson, Othell Wilson, Sean Singletary, Rick Carlisle, Jeff Jones, Bryant Stith and the others will stay with me forever.

Can the Cavaliers make a run deep into the tournament this year? Maybe so, although 50 years of hopes and dreams have made me a pessimist. But it is wonderful to see them good again, and Bennett at least provides hope that he can do for Virginia basketball what George Welsh did in his 19 seasons as football coach.

Welsh took a seriously downtrodden program and had a record of 134-86-3, with 12 bowl games and 14 consecutive seasons winning at least seven games. Wonder of wonders, Virginia was even ranked No. 1 nationally for four weeks in 1990.

We'll see what happens.