Where’s the Press?!? America Made Blind and Deaf

America is wandering blind. She can’t see where she’s been or where she is going. You and I see rising unemployment, rising debt and falling business activity. Most voters don’t know why that is happening. They are blind to the usual methods and organizations that would help them understand what is happening to them. The press is supposed to inform us. Once upon a time the morning news reported on the events that shaped our lives and our country. Today the press is so partisan that they refuse to report on our failed political policies.

Mistakes in government are not a new phenomenon. We used to fix them. Now we pretend the failure never happened, and we live with broken government. As Bill Whittle said, “The press is the immune system of democracy. Our political culture has AIDS because we can’t recognize the threats to our culture.”

I think Whittle is accurate. The press IS the immune system of the body politic. The press reports on the state of America. The press seeks out political corruption and exposes vice. It raises the alarm. That is what the press should do. That is what the press once did. Now the press is dedicated to advocacy journalism to promote their political ambitions. In short, the original purpose of the press has failed. News gathering was replaced by entertainment and political advocacy. Inflamed by the partisan press, government has swollen beyond recognition.

As a practical matter, the press would rather have a corrupt politician of their chosen party in office than see an honest politician of the opposition elected. The press is little more than the spokesperson for the politician. The members of the press have accepted the idea that “What is good for their political party is, of course, good for the country.” The press is wrong. The examples are obvious.

-Both the Obama administration and the press trumpeted Obamacare as a panacea. The press, like many Democrat politicians, was probably committed to Obamacare well before they read the bill. The press was blind to the vast number of citizens who have lost healthcare as Obamacare was forced on them. The press remains blind to it today. I guess the press was pro-choice for healthcare before they were against it.

-We’ve seen the economy slow down. Increased taxes and regulation are often cited as the cause. That story isn’t told on the news. Instead, we are told with a straight face that the wretched job market is really a benefit and unemployment is freeing us from work. Karl Marx said something similar.

Right. And being strangled is really freeing us from breathing.

-In fact, the government is preventing economic growth. The government stands between people who want to exchange with each other. These people want to trade goods and services, but they can’t. There are regulations against it. They want to exchange their own effort for someone else’s effort, but the government stands there with an armed policeman threatening them physically and financially. It is shocking that people want to work and people want to hire them, but they can’t. That isn’t considered news to progressive journalists.

Political corruption is all too familiar. By now we expect the Chicago politician to advance his career at the expense of the city, county or country. Now we see the media treat their audience the same way the politician treats the voters. Both the politician and the press are more interested in what we can do for them than in what they can do for us. I don’t expect the press to change their behavior. They are true believers and see nothing wrong with their actions. They are the party faithful with a model-perfect smile.. and a press pass.

I do expect us, you and me, to recognize the presses’ bad behavior and not excuse it. As responsible citizens, we need to find reliable sources of information. We have to look at non-main stream journalists to find out what is happening in our country, our culture, and even around the world.

That puts a new spin on the old phrase, “See something.. say something.” We are now the eyes, the ears and the voice of the republic. Speak up.

Image: Courtesy of: http://grangeblanche.hautetfort.com/archive/2008/08/07/michaelski-3.html