This is the planet Earth, in existence since six billion years BC. It has its poles and it has its middle. Most of life, human and otherwise, is spread between the poles. This is a time-proven, well-grounded arrangement. However, from the American media’s standpoint, life on Earth is strictly polarized and becomes more so with every passing moment. From the media stand point, there is no middle. There are no longitudes or latitudes. Only the poles.

Can an arrangement like that exist for much longer? Can a house divided stand?

The case in point is the Trayvon Martin affair.

If you go to one of the poles, Trayvon is a fresh-faced teenager, with a squeaky-clean reputation, who looks like the president’s son. He went, unarmed, to visit a friend, and was murdered in cold blood by an adult with a European-sounding name, and his killer was released by the racist cops.

At the other pole, Trayvon is a 6’ 2” 17-year old. He flips the bird on his Facebook pic. He shows off his tattoos. He was suspended from school for possible marijuana possession. He beat a smaller Hispanic neighborhood volunteer bloody before the man shot Trayvon in self-defense.  

Where is the truth? It could be at one of the poles, but more likely, it lies somewhere at the equator. Maybe the culprit is the stupid Florida law. If you point a gun at someone, you get three years of mandatory jail sentence. If you kill this person, you may go free.

But do you know the truth? Not if you spend your time at one of the poles. What can you do? Venture out. Check the other side. If you are a lefty, watch Fox News for a while. If you are a righty, listen to NPR. Be vocal, so your point of view would be known. That way, not only will you enrich your personal world, but maybe add another billion years to the planet Earth's existence.

http://markbudman.net