Let me start by saying the media has always been biased. Also, to some degree the media was always a tool of the establishment. These things are true, but like all things, there are degrees of severity.
For those who have been news or political junkies for decades or more, you probably remember a much different time. Even as recently as the 1990’s, things were much different when it came to the media.
Ironically, media critic and comedian Jon Stewart of The Daily Show famously lambasted the CNN show Crossfire and then host Tucker Carlson for having political arguments on the air.
For those who don’t know, Crossfire was a CNN show where a well known conservative and a well known liberal would debate and argue the news of the day.
And while such a thing can be considered typical cable news divisive programming, such a thing would almost be refreshing today considering how far things have devolved.
Imagine a show on CNN today actually featuring a conservative who was allowed to argue his point of view instead of being a token clown the other hosts could riff on. Despite the format being a bit corny, such a thing would be considered a step in the right direction today, even though at the time it was considered divisive.
It just goes to show how far things have fallen and how dissenting opinions are no longer allowed.
If you watch mainstream cable news today, there is no debate at all. Nobody from opposing sides is ever invited or taken seriously. There is one “correct” opinion the media sells you, the rest are declared to be misinformation.
That’s really the saddest part of what’s going on right now, as well as the most dangerous. No dissenting opinions are allowed anymore. But worse than that, even non-dissenting but simply different opinions aren’t even allowed.
It’s common sense that two reasonable people can look at the same set of facts and come to two different conclusions. That’s exactly what opinions are. But that’s not even allowed anymore. The media demands that everyone look at the facts and only come to one conclusion. If your opinion differs after looking at those facts, you are accused of being fooled by foreign misinformation campaigns. Even if you were never exposed to any misinformation, you simply came to a different conclusion.
It’s almost shocking to watch the news now once you realize this fact. It’s no longer a place where opinions are shared on the topics of the day. It’s where narratives are built and a demand is made that you agree with those narratives or be labeled a disinformation agent.
It’s just another example of why we must all be vigilant when we notice an erosion of free speech. It never just stops with one incremental incursion. That incursion is always part of a wave that once initiated, never relents.
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