In 1995 Carl Sagan had a foreboding vision of America’s future.
“I
have a foreboding of an America in my children's or grandchildren's time --
when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all
the manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome
technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing
the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the
ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority;
when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our
critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good
and what's true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and
darkness...
The dumbing down of America is most evident in the slow decay of substantive
content in the enormously influential media, the 30 second sound bites (now
down to 10 seconds or less), lowest common denominator programming, credulous
presentations on pseudoscience and superstition, but especially a kind of
celebration of ignorance”
From “The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark”.
If there could be any doubt about who that description may fit, let’s look at an important measure.
Those in the throes of their "celebration of ignorance" are revealed by their vaccination rates.
A Kaiser Family Foundation poll in June shows vaccination rates of selected groups in the US.
Democrats
86%
Independents
61%
Republicans
52 %
College
Grads 79%
No
four-year degree 59%
Women
70%
Men
61%
White
67%
Hispanic
63%
Black
60%
Clearly one of these groups should NOT be allowed the power to dictate any public policy, from voting rights to education to healthcare.
The fact they support Trump's Big Lie and deny his incitement of insurrection should be enough to tell us how ignorant (or outright evil) they really are.
Not only are they a public health menace, they are the greatest domestic threat to our Constitution and republic.
"Ignorance
is strength". Orwell's Big Brother has given the former GOP, now the Party
of Trump and Qanon, its new motto.
Posts
12 comments:
The days of a factual delivery of the news as Walter Cronkite used to give without his personal opinions is gone. The left is just as guilty of slanting its news, just watch MSNBC. Facts (which can be proven, or denied) no longer matter. So it will be impossible to solve problems. It's not enough to simply prove the GOP is lying, we have to prove it to the Americans who continue to vote those liars in office, but to many Americans don't think they are liars.
Jerry,
For decades I've had limited faith and even mistrust of corporate news. (A phrase hardly ever uttered on corporate news programs.) I learned they have a corporate/status quo bias long ago. That constitutes an innate conservative bias.
I've also learned they would regurgitate lies that Bush/Cheney fed them to invade Iraq. It was the price they paid for ratings and access to power.
Corporate news has gone from a non-profit service to one dedicated to revenue generation.
The fairness doctrine was eliminated by the Right for their own purposes, and it was not to better inform the public.
Walter Cronkite actually did express his opinion against the Vietnam war. My brother was over there, so I paid attention to the news back then.
If all journalists are as dishonest as the radical Right propaganda network, truth is dead and there is NO way to educate people or report facts.
Suggesting CNN and MSNBC are just as biased, as in dishonest and inaccurate, as FOX(R) and OANN(Q) isn't the way to encourage the dissemination of facts.
If the left is just as guilty of slanting its news, those who choose to believe lies only have their case supported by the false equivalence of "both siderism".
Everyone can be mistaken or misinformed. Look for the outlets who retract erroneous or false information and those who do not. Some will support Trump's Big Lie and others report the truth. It is dangerous to the truth to lump them together.
Everybody and every news outlet has some bias. It's called human nature. Some really are more biased towards reporting facts and reality.
I remember one of the best lines ever spoken at a White House Correspondents Dinner was from Stephen Colbert. "Reality has a well-known liberal bias."
Unfortunately corporate bias runs through all mainstream media. Sadly much of it has slanted even more radically to the Right. There is NO leftist corporate news network.
So here we are. Journalism and the corporate press have been demonized as "liberal media", "fake news" and "enemies of the people".
The German Nazis used the term “Lügenpresse”, or lying press, in their campaign to destroy journalism. Now American fascists cry “liberal media”, "enemies of the people" and “fake news” when the truth threatens their agenda.
Look where, and who, that fascist tactic got us.
Tragically it's beyond the scope of most of the American public to differentiate between corporate news, progressive news, and radical Right propaganda.
There is certainly a corporate leftist bias news it's MSNBC.
Cronkite expressed his opinion once in 30 years and it was about the Vietnam war, but his opinion was his not some CBS corporate slant. Giving his opinion about the war was news itself because he never gave his opinions in delivering the news.
You are right about your description of what has happened to the news, but who is responsible for swallowing that garbage? The people. The gullible American public.
MSNBC is corporate and profit driven, not leftist.
Corporate and leftist are two very divergent viewpoints and value systems. The difference between FOX(R) and MSNBC is FOX News has news in its name. MSNBC is news commentary and analysis with a bias towards the Democratic Party. NBC News is the news outlet.
Yes, MSNBC is biased. But bias isn't the standard. It is accuracy of reporting.
Americans have no option for a mainstream cable leftist news outlet.
There is no Socialist News Network available for the people to see the alternative perspective on news. Even NPR has corporate sponsors, who stand immune from critical reporting. MSNBC will not focus on, and draw attention to, their advertisers' malfeasance.
This is the nature of corporate media.
And there's a hell of lot more radical Right outlets in media than moderate or progressive, so the gullible are their flock to fleece.
Carl Sagan is sorely missed. I am re-reading his "The Demon Haunted World."
I cut the cable cord 2 years ago so for news I have only BBC World News and PBS's News Hour, with Judy Woodruff. No theatrics, just the news and with PBS, in-depth interviews on current topics.
I occasionally tune into local Boston channels, but not often.
Shaw,
Cable news is either dishonest (on the Right), or depressing (mainstream CNN, etc.).
Fortunately there are good periodicals to read. Mother Jones, the Nation, the Atlantic, etc.and Democracy Now, Media Matters, etc, on line.
I’m glad we still are free in this country to make personal health decisions with out feeling forced! Not for long when you have anti freedom people like dave spreading garbage
Well, if it isn't old Vern posting as anonymous again. Very brave of him.
Still being illogical and generalized. He's quite unable to show where I am "anti-freedom" or what he considers "garbage". His only point is hate.
And this is that last we'll see of him.
Let it be known Vern's position is now, "My body, my choice".
Sounds familiar...
The only position the JTFs of the world have is 'Whatever you are for, I'm against'
Just like with seat belts, it's not just a personal choice. It ceases to be a personal choice when the consequences of your actions affect people outside of yourself. JTF gets into a car without wearing his seat belt, gets into an accident and gets thrown out the windshield- cool. His mangled, near lifeless, projectile of a body comes to a probably temporary stop in the middle of the highway where one of his fellow humans is trying to just get home from a long day at work. Now she's got to swerve out of the way to avoid running over JTF's dumb ass and causes the guy in the lane next to her to swerve and slam on the brakes. This causes the cars behind them to slam into them and total their cars. Personal choice becomes a societal problem. And this isn't even mentioning the effect on even more of his fellow Americans if Projectile JTF made a "personal choice" not to carry health insurance.
JTF, pretending that he's not already vaccinated, thinks he's helping his community and family by pretending that it's a personal choice to remain a vector of viral transmission and mutation. How very Christian and Conservative of him. The same idiots who bitched and moaned about wearing masks which prolonged this pandemic are now bitching and moaning about the vaccine which... yup, here it is, is prolonging the pandemic. I look forward to the bitching and moaning when stores, shops and restaurants have to start limiting capacity or operations hours or we have to show our vaccine records to do anything/go anywhere because of the toddler-levels of intransigence.
TB3,
It's really as simple as that. And it's as easy to do as it is simple to maintain.
"If you commie libs are against the virus, I'M FOR IT!"
So here we are. Trapped with an infected and doomed culture celebrating their ignorance, thinking they're making America great again, AND owning the libs.
Now they're getting sick and dropping like flies after spreading it.
That'll show us.
I see FOX(R) is backing off their anti-vax hysteria. The lawsuits by victims, families, and survivors are closing in...
CDC: COVID-19 outbreak among 346 fully vaccinated people shows those 'infected with Delta can transmit the virus' Guess the vaxxed are a danger to the public also
Anonymous,
The real danger is to the unvaxxed.
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