We get what we deserve

I attended a focus group tonight about how there is work afoot to bolster the Clean Water Act, which has been eroded over the years by government entities, mainly the Army Corps of Engineers, reclassifying bodies of water which allows for looser restrictions on pollution (for example, the Hillsborough River, which is so filthy that people shouldn't eat the fish caught out of it, is actually classified as a channel, not a river). What's funny (aka sad) about that is Florida also has something called the Clean Indoor Air Act, which outlaws smoking in over 90% of Florida's commercial buildings and that (after some initial resistance) has been followed without question. We can legislate a habit but we can't protect a natural resource every single one of us needs to stay alive?
Anyway, many people there were appalled and had no idea this was taking place right under their noses. They said the media should do a better job of making people aware of situations like this. However, people don't understand, or don't want to understand, that the media is in the advertising business, not public service. For example, I just watched an in-depth report on Britney Spears shaving her head on our local Fox affiliate. Now, honestly, which news item is likely to draw more potential Dodge Ram, Pizza Hut, cell phone plan purchasing viewers? The info is out there; if you see something wrong (like the major source of fresh water for a major metropolitan area being choked with filth, for instance), ask your own questions and find out for yourself what's going on. Or we can all just sit here in our own filth and wait for the next Anna Nicole update. We must like it; why else would we put up with it?