“It’s Christmastime.” It’s a horrible worn-out lyric that didn’t mean anything in the first place. It puts me in mind of everybody going on vacation, and media outlets recycling content and drumming up human interest stories to fill time and space.
It probably did not play into mass murderers’ decisions to act this time of the year. But it did have something to do with mass media’s response. It is so easy to be staring at a deadline and no news, feeling the passion of the masses to hear answers that don’t exist, and get an idea like, “Why don’t I call the local schools and see how they are responding to the Connecticut incident.?”
That put school leadership in the unfortunate position of feeling a need to answer a leading question. In many cases, it is likely the reporters did not ask if administrators believed it advisable to do something, but what they were doing. Perceived pressure from the media created demand for half-baked symbolic pro-children-sounding plans. Since impulsive ideas often defer responsibility to perceived overlords, the beat of the same drummer on Hayek’s Road to Serfdom went on.
In other filled space, children need more free food, animal rescues are caught on film, people are doing last-minute Christmas shopping, and 2012 had highlights. Next week we will read that 2013 has predictions.
