The Truth According to…

Most of us recognize that it can be difficult to report on a subject and remain completely unbiased in our presentation. For instance, it is not surprising to hear parents and grandparents, with presumed objectivity, testify to the exceptional intelligence of their offspring.

In political matters we also tend to slant the story in favor of our particular view or ideological persuasion.

This tendency is not limited to laymen reporting, but is also common among professionals. Though there are exceptions, the reporting of the news is not always factual and subjective. The choices of which stories to cover and how much attention they receive are often driven by the political persuasion of the writer or news agency.

The problem comes when listeners, or readers, take the news from their preferred source verbatim, assuming them to be completely accurate in their reporting. This is true at both ends of the political spectrum, whether liberal or conservative. Just because Fox News reports a fact or opinion, does not mean it is completely trustworthy or factual, and the same can be said for ABC, CBS, NBC, etc.

Far too often those who drink from the well of corporate media are content to let the professionals do their thinking for them. We make the same mistake with politicians and special interest groups. However, when we are not doing our own thinking, we become the subjects of mind control.

This media bias is having a powerful effect on our culture. The great political divide in our country is in part influenced by this inaccurate and dishonest reporting. What is reported, or what is left out of the news, is too often an indication of the particular bias of the reporting agency.

The recent resignation of Van Jones was virtually ignored by the majority of the corporate media, and those who mentioned it failed to detail his extreme communist views and ignored the larger question of how, with his radical background, he managed to be appointed in the first place.

The same could be said about the hundreds of thousands of patriots who demonstrated for freedom a couple of weeks ago. It was passed over by most stations.

A few years ago when a comparatively few dozen demonstrators protested about the war in Iraq, it was posted all over the news for days. How could something of such size and significance as the tea parties go unmentioned?

One can only assume it must be the result of the political leaning of the newscaster or station. We saw the same thing in the last week having to do with the videos exposing the corruption of ACORN. It was days after this major story broke and continued to grow before the major networks found it worthy of reporting.

Journalistic irresponsibility is not all that difficult to recognize, and in the end, it may be having unexpected and beneficial results. People are wising up to the story behind many news stories. The reason news is left out may not be because it is unimportant, but because it does not support the ideological position of the agency.

On the other hand, issues may be highlighted or even exaggerated simply because it agrees with their political views. Because of this, more and more people are refusing to drink the Kool-Aid offered by social interest groups and bias-driven news agencies.

One of the reasons for the patriotic uprising we are experiencing in our country is that citizens are tired of letting others do their thinking for them. Critics, including those in the media and even many of our elected officials, are so accustomed to seeing public opinion shaped by the propaganda of special interest groups that they are finding it difficult to accept the fact that these millions of people are not supported and driven by corporate backing.

On the contrary, they are part of a growing number of freedom loving citizens who are seeking to be informed and involved.