Advice from a College Professor

While going for my Master's at Oxford (Ohio, Miami U.), I took all my "free" classes in political science. Dr. Black, the department chair, was my professor, and the classes were almost pure delight.

One bit of advice he gave us was this:

Unless you become a political scientist or a journalist, you will not have the time to check out all the pertinent news an nuances of current events. You should, therefore, discover for yourself a group of journalists who you trust in pursuing the necessary facts and background ---- and --- who share your world view, your values, philosophy. You will not have the time to read everyone, so read those who look at the scene through perspectives that you have found true and with which you are comfortable.

Now, I know that some of you think that a liberal should read as much conservative pundits as he/she does liberal. I think this is a waste of time. My core values and frame of reference is mine --- arrived at through thought, feeling and living. This does not mean I never read people like George Will, Charles Krauthammer, Michael Barone and Pat Buchanan. I don't, though, waste my time entirely and raise my blood pressure unnecessarily by reading or listening to such silly persons as Bill O'Reilly, Ann Coulter and Sean Hannity.