A Glance in the Mirror

Once again, the St. Petersburg Times comes up with a prime piece of journalism. Today, it's Stephen Nohlgren's admirable article, Routine Returns A Sense of Calm.

The subject is the hospice center that cared for Terri Schaivo for the last five years. Like state Circuit Court Judge Judge Greer, the "Hospice House Woodside" staff studiously did their job and strived to maintain neutrality in the teeth of outrageous public displays, scurilous attacks on their motives, and the unbridgeable divisions within the Schaivo family.

There is much to admire in what Nohlgren reports about Woodside's staff and the quality of care they provide. And one revelatory glance in the mirror at ourselves that is so appalling it warrants italics for emphasis:

Dr. Theresa Buck, the staff physician, understands the danger. Her own mother and step-mother refused to believe her assessment of Schiavo's condition because of what they saw on television.

"They said she is talking and asking for things," Buck said. "I had dinner with them Wednesday night and couldn't convince them that's not true. And I'm here every day."

Have we let commercial television so debase us as a society that now we embrace cable-cast ignorance and 'talking head' misinformation before we credit real facts from a trained observer?