While meteorologists, or weathermen, certainly have their benefits and purposes in this modern society, we should question whether we really need someone to tell us about the natural elements as often as they do. It is pretty unbelievable that a completely new type of weather will ever transpire from out of nowhere. After living through the four seasons multiple times, people really do know what to expect.

If people wake up and it’s raining, they grab their umbrella; if there is fresh snow on the ground, they put on an extra layer of clothing or decide not to leave their house that day.

True, people do want to know what sort of weather is coming in the near future so that they can plan accordingly.

If someone has yard work to do for example, and knows that it is supposed to rain tomorrow, they might find the time to do it today. Also, there are the times that the natural forces can prove deadly, so it is good for people to have time to take proper precautions.

However, while being able to know the weather before it comes does help people in many ways, the decision-makers within our media outlets allot too much time to something as simple as the weather, and not enough on the more controversial issues that affect our daily lives.

In a supposed democracy, where the people are supposed to reign supreme and have a real impact on policy decisions, why are current weather conditions repeated so often on news stations? Aren’t these the type of things that people would know by simply opening their doors?

Instead of talking just about the weather – yep, it’s raining – we should confront the issues that we have always been told to avoid: politics and religion. After all, the most passion is found within these two realms of thought.

I honestly believe that the people in power do not want us to touch on passionate subjects, because if we did, we would be taking on their subject matter. It is the government that worries about politics, which is separate from religion (supposedly), and we should trust them to focus on the issues that we are taught not to discuss.

Once the people get a hold on the real issues, the power structure is sure to change.

No one in a Western power position would openly discourage true democracy – the only catch phrase they have going for them; they already killed “freedom” – yet due to the lack of discourse, the people do not rule this society.

Controversy is too-often absent from news coverage, but in order for a system governed by the people to function, we must openly discuss the forbidden realms of politics and religion. In a politically correct environment, where much of the news coverage is focused on celebrity comings and goings, or what the temperature will be tomorrow, there is hardly any real debate that the people can affect around public policy decisions.

I do not mean to disregard the work that meteorologists do, nor say that the weather is unimportant.

I do believe, though, that there needs to be less discussion on such an obvious part of our lives and more on looming policy decisions that could lead to truly democratic decisions.