nice ring to it,? said Rick. ?I figure that?s a rating spike, right there.?
?Ratings! All you concern yourself with??
?Be quiet,? said Emily.
??is your precious by God ratings!? Governor Tate was getting into it now, his face flushing with religious fire. He?d found his latest opponents, now that Senator Ryman was off the menu. Us. ?A little girl dies, a family is shattered, a man?s run to the presidency may not recover, and what do you care about? Your damn ratings! Well, you can take those ratings, and??
We never found out what we could do with our ratings. The sound of Emily?s palm striking Governor Tate?s cheek rang through the room like a branch breaking; the only thing that could have been louder was the silence that came after it. Governor Tate raised his hand to his cheek, staring at her like he couldn?t believe what he was seeing. I couldn?t blame him. I couldn?t believe what I was seeing either, and I wasn?t the one who?d been slapped.
?Emily, what?? began Senator Ryman. She raised her hand for silence, and then slowly, deliberately, removed her sunglasses, eyes on Governor Tate the whole time. The unforgiving light flooding the room had caused her pupils to expand until her irises were entirely gone, drowning in blackness. I winced. I knew how much that had to be hurting her, but she didn?t flinch. She kept staring at Tate.
?For the sake of my husband?s political career, I will be pleasant to you; I will smile at you at public functions, and I will, whenever a camera or member of the undiscriminating press is present, endeavor to treat you as if you were a human being,? she said, in a calm, almost reasonable tone. ?But understand this: If you ever speak to these people in that sort of manner in my presence again? If you ever behave as if they have no judgment, no compassion, and no common sense? I?ll make you wish you?d never joined this ticket. And if I come to believe that your attitude is in any way changing my husband?not damaging his oh-so-precious career, but changing who he is as a man?I will repudiate you, and I will end you. Do we have an understanding, Governor??
?Yes, ma?am,? said Governor Tate, sounding about as stunned as I felt. A glance to Shaun showed that he was probably feeling much the same. ?I think you?ve made yourself clear.?
?Good.? Emily turned toward us. ?Shaun, Georgia, Buffy, Rick, I hope you won?t let this unpleasant little scene sour you against my husband?s campaign. I speak for both of us when I say that I very much hope you?ll continue doing exactly what you?ve been doing for us.?
?We signed on for the good and the bad alike, Mrs. Ryman,? said Rick. ?I don?t believe any of us are planning on going anywhere.?
Looking at Buffy, I wasn?t sure. ?He?s right, Emily,? I said. ?We?re staying. Assuming, of course, the senator wants us to ?? I looked his way, and waited.
Senator Ryman looked uncertain. Then, slowly, he nodded and rose, moving to put his arm around his wife?s shoulders. ?David, I?m afraid I?m going to have to vote with Emily on this one. I very much want them all to stay.?
?Well, Senator,? I said, ?I think our partnership is still good.?
?Good,? he replied. Reaching out, he took my hand and shook it.
* * *
The trouble with the news is simple: People, especially ones on the ends of the power spectrum, like it when you?re afraid. The people who have the power want you scared. They want you walking around paralyzed by the notion that you could die at any moment. There?s always something to be afraid of. It used to be terrorists. Now it?s zombies.
What does this have to do with the news? This: The truth isn?t scary. Not when you understand it, not when you understand the repercussions of it, and not when you aren?t worried that something?s being kept from you. The truth is only scary when you think part of it might be missing. And those people? They like it when you?re scared. So they do their best to sit on the truth, to sensationalize the truth, to filter the truth in ways that make it something you can be afraid of.
If we didn?t have to fear the truths we didn?t hear, we?d lose the need to fear the ones we did. People should consider that.
?From Images May Disturb You,
the blog of Georgia Mason, April 2,