Hello. It’s been a while since I’ve submitted
anything to your friendly neighborhood paper for
publication. Social Media just seemed to be so much easier … and
immediate. But I’ve seen it turn ugly over the past few
years, and it is beginning to frighten me. To be clear, I’m not a
man who
frightens easily.
Politically, it seems that people who lean to
the left are more concerned about the First Amendment; and those
who lean to the right are more concerned about the Second
Amendment. That’s OK. They’re both important, or they wouldn’t be in there,
would they? In full disclosure, for those who don’t know me, I’m one of those
snowflake lefties, and a gun owner – but this column is not political, so
please don’t let my political leanings dissuade you from reading further.
With its roots in Social Media – Twitter,
Facebook – there is a dangerously growing sentiment that the “free press” is
“an enemy of the people.” Does this make sense? Is it true? No matter your
political persuasion, I am asking you to examine this belief carefully,
thoughtfully, with an open mind. If
you’ll do that, within those simple guidelines, given that you possess the
intelligence to have read the preceding 200 or so words, I’m confident that you
will arrive at the correct conclusion.
Ask yourself whether it is the press or the
government that stands to benefit most from what information, or lack of
information the public has. What does
the press have to gain by giving you negative information, dirt, on those you
have elected to serve in public office? What do those elected officials have to
gain by convincing you that stories reported by the media are false?
An argument could be made that “bad news” sells
papers and advertising on TV and radio; and, therefore, it is in the financial
interest of the media to push as much of that as possible. In relatively normal times, that would be an
effective point; but these are not normal times. Many people are turning away from all forms
of what has come to be known as Mainstream Media, to the point of violence, and
putting all their trust in what they see on Social Media. This causes only financial pain for the
conventional media. But they keep reporting the news, whether it’s good or
bad. Why? Why would they continue to do that, and not
pander to the demands of subscribers in order to get those all-important ad
dollars back?
If you’ll permit, let’s go back to me for a
moment. I’ve had hundreds of my columns
printed in newspapers over the past couple of decades. I can assure you,
without the slightest hesitation, that I haven’t gotten rich by doing so. And,
even though my offerings are generally frivolous opinion pieces, by virtue of
the fact that they are in the newspaper some folks consider me “one of them” –
a member of the dreaded MSM – paid handsomely by moguls like George Soros to
spread lies and misinform the people about the world they live in; selling my
soul to the Devil to the peril of my own friends and family. To the peril of my
granddaughters. I’m not! I’m a regular guy who lives in a small suburban
neighborhood in Arkansas. I drive a 2002 Ford pickup. It’s red. I’m an
insurance adjuster and a private investigator and a photographer, and a digital
artist – and anything else I can do to earn a buck – because I don’t get those
MSM checks, and I still have bills to pay. And (surprise!) neither do the many
real news people I have gotten to know through association with my column. You
know them. They’re your neighbors and relatives and members of your church. You
see them at the grocery store where you’re both standing in the security line
fumbling for your photo IDs so you can buy some coffee. Sometimes they’re at the next table from you
at your local restaurant; in the next seat at the movie theater. You recognize
each other and speak of how your day is going.
What do those people have to gain by lying to you about the goings on in
your government?
Conversely, there are those in (literally) ivory
towers, issuing decrees in 140 character increments, telling you who and what
you should believe, and insisting that you trust them with things as important
as sending your sons and daughters to war. You don’t know them. You’ve never
met. Likely, you’ve never even seen these people in real life. And it is your
real life you are trusting them with. On
what basis, what evidence, do you give them that trust?
As stated, I’m a liberal columnist. Don’t take
it from me! Maybe you know a conservative one. Ask that person how many of the
people he or she works with gets those George Soros checks. He/She should
know. Ask that columnist who sets the
agenda for what he/she writes. Get back to me on that?
Historically, unofficially, the US government
has consisted of four branches: The Executive branch, the Legislative branch,
the Judicial branch, and the Press (media). The first three of those are there
to run the country as they see fit; and in doing so there is endless potential
for them to misuse that power for personal benefit. The fourth is there to let
you know whether or not the other three are playing by the rules – and they get
paid either way.
The media is you. Are you an enemy of the
people?
© 2018, Rick Baber
