Once upon a time, the average American trusted their news source, whether it was radio, television, or print. Those of us of a certain age can fondly remember Walter Cronkite’s famous, “That’s the way it is” sign-off every evening, and trusting that what he’d told us that night was indeed “the way it is.”
But now, with that advent of alternative media sources such as talk radio and the internet, many Americans are realizing that many in the so-called mainstream media are actually influencing the story in favor of their favorite leaders.
Rick Santorum and Satan
In 2008, GOP Presidential candidate Rick Santorum gave a speech at Ave Maria University in Florida in which he stated that Satan had his sights on the United States of America. Recently, with Mr. Santorum’s rise in the polls, this four year old story has suddenly become news all over the country. So much so, in fact, that if you were to Google “Santorum Satan,” you would get well over twenty-nine million hits at the time this article was written. Apparently, a belief in evil is a big no-no in the mainstream media. Or is it?
During the election cycle of 2008, then-candidate Barack Obama, speaking at the Saddleback Mountain debate, stated that “Evil does exist. I mean, I think we see evil all the time.” He went on to state that, “One of the things that I strongly believe is that we are not going to, as individuals, be able to erase evil from the world. That is God’s task.” True, he never actually mentions Satan by name, but as a self-professed Christian who believes in God, it would stand to reason that he would also believe in Satan, and believe him to be responsible for the evil in the world.
Strangely enough, these comments didn’t seem to inspire anywhere near the uproar in the mainstream media as did Mr. Santorum’s. In fact, if you were to Google “Obama evil exists,” you would only get less than one and a half million hits, or roughly five per cent of the number of hits on “Santorum Satan.” No bias to see here, folks.
GOP Presidential Candidates and Contraception
During the Arizona debate, CNN debate moderator John King asked “Since ‘birth control’ is the latest hot topic, which candidate believes in birth control, and if not, why?” This question was clearly in reference to the recent controversy over President Obama mandating that some religious institutions provide reproductive health care to their employees, even if it violated their religious beliefs.
But, as GOP Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich was quick to point out, “You did not once in the 2008 campaign, not once did anybody in the elite media ask why Barack Obama voted in favor of legalizing infanticide.”
Jumping to President Obama’s defense, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer stated on-air during an episode of "The Situation Room" that “two republican presidential candidates are accusing President Obama of voting in favor of making the killing of newborn children legal.” Not to be outdone, CNN’s chief White House correspondent Jessica Yellin explained in the same conversation how then-Illinois Senator Obama voted first present and then against a “born alive” bill, which stated that “a live child born as a result of an abortion shall be fully recognized as a human person and accorded immediate protection under the law.” She gave his reason for opposition to the life-saving bill as that the measure “lacked the federal language clarifying the act would not be used to undermine Roe v Wade.” She concluded by saying that “The President never supported legislation that, in the words of the republican Presidential candidates, supported infanticide.”
Jessica Yellin’s statement is technically true, of course. President Obama never voted in favor of legislation that supported infanticide. The devil, however, is in the details. President Obama voted against legislation that would have made infanticide illegal, therefore Mr. Gingrich’s statement holds true. By voting against a bill requiring medical aid for abortion survivors, Obama in effect voted for infanticide.
The Contraception Argument is a Red Herring
Of course, the entire contraception discussion is a red herring. True, the subject has been a hot topic lately, but not because of abortion or contraceptives or even the morning after pill. Conservatives are opposed to the reproductive care mandate because it violates the religious rights guaranteed in the First Amendment of the Constitution. Whether pro-life or pro-choice, the fact that the federal government can now force someone to violate their religious beliefs under penalty of law should frighten you.
Many in the mainstream media are attempting to frame the argument in such a way as to cast the conservatives as against women’s rights, but that’s simply not the case. After all, this law hasn’t taken effect yet, and any woman who chooses to already has access to reproductive health care. Whether the mandate goes into effect or not, this won’t change. Conservatives claim that they are against those who would re-write the Constitution as they see fit, to further their own political ends. The plain truth is, this mandate violates religious rights, and that is simply unconstitutional.
Do Your Own Research
In today’s fast-paced world, many people are basing their views on headlines instead of actually checking the facts behind the story. A good example would be an attention-getting headline saying, “Seventy Percent of all Tax Cuts go to Top Ten Percent.” If you didn’t know the rest of the story, that according to the National Taxpayer's Union, the top ten percent actually pay seventy percent of the revenue collected, this headline would probably upset you. The simple truth is, if an absolutely even tax cut were to be made across the board, then the top ten percent would receive seventy percent of the tax cuts. It’s just basic math. However, you’re most likely never going to see a headline that says, “Tax Cuts Benefit Everyone Equally.”
The bottom line is, do your own research. Most Americans have at least limited access to the internet these days. Knowing only part of the story can be as much or more harmful as knowing none of the story. After all, as Alexander Pope once said, “a little learning is a dangerous thing.” (commonly misquoted today as “a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.”)
Barrett James, Jr. - Barrett James, Jr. is the author of the sci-fi novel, "The Legacy of Balthazar" as well as many self-help articles about the HVAC ...
