By Al D’Angelo
Where is the unbiased media? It seems the media has chosen to become an arm of a political party. There was a time when investigative reporters worked to uncover the truth, Watergate is a perfect example of the power of the press to uncover the truth. What happened? It seems most news media is more interested in using selective journalism to pick and choose what to print. It shouldn’t matter who is in office the job of the media is to present the facts to the American people and not to slant those facts to serve a political agenda. A perfect example of media bias was the reporting of the boarder crisis. During the Obama administration children were detained and put into shelters his administration constructed. Same scenario during the Trump administration however the media reported that children were separated from their families and put into cages. This narrative was used by the media repeatedly. Under present administration children were back in shelters and the crisis at the border is being grossly under reported and the President is attempting to bar reporters from the area. Something as simple as a word change (cages to shelters) can influence people’s judgement. They are using their power to shape opinion for political reasons. Where is the outcry about the Afghan withdrawal where hundreds, if not thousands, of US citizens and those who helped the US were left stranded? The media narrative has now shifted to vaccines to take the pressure off the administration. Why is a former President banned from social media, but the Taliban and others bent on the destruction of America are not? Why isn’t the media outraged that at a Presidential press conference questions must be presented in advance or only a few questions are answered? We are being manipulated by the press and that is a danger to our democracy. The reason we study history is to learn from the past, so we don’t make the same mistakes in the future. Joseph Goebbles, Hitler’s propaganda minster believed, “if you tell a big enough lie and keep repeating it, people will believe it”. Many people feel, if they read it in the newspaper or see it on TV it must be true. Fascism and Communism could never have taken over countries if the news media wasn’t complicit. Just to prove a point listen to CNN and FOX news reporting on the same story then try to figure out what’s true. Just think about how you form an opinion. Do you believe what you see and hear in the media? When media becomes the arm of a political or social agenda, the information we receive will be flawed. Once we form a political opinion, we watch what will enforces our beliefs, it is very difficult to admit we were wrong. Just consider what you believe then think about how you formed those beliefs. Was it in school and did the professor help form your opinion? Does it make sense that institutions of higher learning do not allow guest lecturers with opposing views to be heard. Doesn’t it take away from a student’s ability to listen to both sides of an argument thus enhancing their education? Maybe the news media was influential in your thinking. Now suppose the information was politically motivated. The misinformation can change the face of the nation. We must learn from what happened in Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia. Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it. Americans should listen to ever point of view with an open mind and make their own informed decision as to what is best for our country regardless of politics.
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