The two careers I’ve had as an adult
– journalist and teacher – have required me to play the role of
centrist. Each job has required me to offer information in an
unbiased, factual way.
The two careers I’ve had as an adult – journalist and teacher – have required me to play the role of centrist. Each job has required me to offer information in an unbiased, factual way.
“Present the facts and let the audience decide” has been my mantra.
As a young reporter, I had to learn to accurately report both sides of a story, regardless of my views on the matter. I now teach those skills to high school students.
As an editor I had to consider our entire readership as I was deciding what stories should run. The story about the negative effects of MTBE on the water supply was balanced with a story about the benefits of oil exploration in the Gulf of Mexico.
But as a columnist, centrism isn’t required. In fact, it’s discouraged. As a result, I am borrowing a little from my editorial page colleagues and offering my own version of “Thumbs up, thumbs down.” I call it, simply, “Breen’s views on stuff that he likes and doesn’t like.” I’m still refining that crude title, to borrow from oil industry jargon.
I like Downtown Hollister. It has charm, character, sidewalks with inlaid bricks and new trees.
I don’t like that it virtually shuts down at night and sometimes on weekends. I know some stores have expanded their hours, but many commuters’ work hours have expanded as well, so they don’t have a chance to sample the wares of our local merchants as often as they’d like. I don’t like that I have to give a lot of my sales tax money to Gilroy, though I do like the selection of stores that it has.
I like Progresso’s Tamale Parlor, especially the cheese enchilada/ground beef taco combination with refried beans, a side salad, and tortilla soup. I also like its easy-to-remember phone number, 637-FART. I’m not making that up, though they don’t market it that way for obvious reasons.
I don’t like that I sometimes get a craving for my favorite combination meal on Mondays and I forget that the place isn’t open on Mondays and I don’t realize it until I get to the door of the parlor.
I like getting to know our local teens through my job as a teacher. Almost without fail, they are engaging, fairly respectful, inquisitive, and humorous people stuck somewhere in that confusing place between youth and adulthood.
I don’t like that a lot of adults judge teens by appearances, forgetting that we too were once judged by our elders. They’re not all perfect, by any means, but more of them than you might think are actually fun to talk to, even if they use “like” and “hella” way more than they should.
I like the “Do Not Call List,” which actually has cut down on the solicitation phone calls that my family receives at home.
I don’t like recorded messages from politicians, though I understand it’s probably a cheap way to get your message out. I would like it if Arnold Schwarzenegger or Barbara Boxer called my house to discuss issues with me, but I don’t like their recorded voice calling me to urge me to vote this way or that. Call me yourself; we’ll talk. You might even be able to persuade me on something – your recorded voice will not (same goes for the aspiring local politician who left me a message asking me to join the fight against child predators or some such cause, then “oh by the way” reminding me that he was a candidate for state office again and again).
I like TiVo.
OK, I LOVE TiVo. It records my favorite shows and allows me to fast-forward through commercials.
I don’t like commercials, unless they are running during the Super Bowl. But then I don’t like the Super Bowl anymore because the 49ers are never there. I do like that the Raiders are never there, however.
I would like it if they both made it there in the same year, but I, like, think there’s a hella good chance that won’t happen anytime soon.
Adam Breen likes teaching journalism and yearbook at San Benito High School. He is former editor of The Free Lance.
