all jesus, all the time
2005-04-05 : 1:22 p.m.

Okay, am I hallucinating, or has CNN become the Christian News Network? �All Jesus, All The Time�? It�s been weeks since I saw a TV news story about anything other than Terri Schaivo and the Pope.

On the one hand, I�m not a Roman Catholic. On the other hand, I certainly understand the worldly importance of the Roman Pontiff, and this pope in particular. In fact, as an Anglican Christian, I even appreciate the historical and spiritual significance of the See of Rome and its occupant, who stands in the Petrine Succession.

But...umm....I really don�t expect or want to �get my religion� from CNN.

I am beginning to wonder if the mainstream media didn�t just lose their minds after the election. Who, precisely, are they trying to please with all this foolishness? During the Infinite Clown Show that was the Terri Schaivo affair, I saw countless MSM reporters interviewing protestors and their spokespeople. These lunatics would make the most outrageously false statements, and not once did I see or hear a journalist call any of these clowns on factually incorrect statements.

I have a real problem with this, although it�s become the general ontology of the MSM under the Reign of Bush the Younger. They formula goes like this: Someone asserts something. Someone else says �that�s just liberal bullshit!�, and the reporters rush off to get that someone else�s �take� on the first someone�s assertion. Both statements are given equal time in the name of �balance�, and the reporter considers the matter thoroughly �covered�.

But aren�t some statements correct, and some incorrect? Aren�t some questions about facts rather than �views�? Isn�t there an empirical �world out there� that can sometimes give a �yes� or �no� answer?

(I�ll thank Rorty fans out there to kindly refrain from emailing me re: �the world out there�, as I am fully aware of the issues involved. Just roll with me here for a bit.)

There are some FACTS in the world, and they aren�t �liberal� or �conservative�. If research shows that human activity is causing climate change, that�s a FACT. If conservatives don�t agree, that doesn�t make the research �liberal�; it makes the conservatives WRONG. It follows that what a reporter should do when faced with conflicting statements is research the matter, obtain expert opinion, and generally help us to drill down to the FACTS.

In short, I believe that journalists need to be reminded of their proper function in the information ecology of this culture. They are intellectual generalists, and like most broad things, they are not very deep. We value them not for their depth or their heart or their openness. We value them as generalist researchers who consistently help the public sort through competing claims to arrive at conclusions that may reasonably be regarded as correct. And this is an important function in a democracy, because the people need to be able to make informed decisions; our collective choices make a difference.

But it seems that they�ve all bought in to the rampant and profound subjectivism of this culture, in which beliefs now stand in for facts. For the radical right of today, as for the radical left of the 60�s, the truth about the world is defined by what we believe. Facts that suggest otherwise are clearly in league with the Devil (or the Man, or whatever). Rather than question this very paradigm, the MSM have chosen to pursue the path of least resistance: This guy says this, but this other guys says THIS. Back to you, Tom!

And we, the great unwashed masses of the People, are left thinking.... �but which one is right?�

And I�m wondering, whatever happened to logic and reason?

***

The MSM also pretty much ignored numerous polls that showed a vast majority of Americans (conservative and liberal alike) thoroughly disagreed with the protestors, with DeLay, with Frist, and with Bush. They consistently talked about �Terri� as if she were alive and thinking and feeling, thus shifting the semantic ground under the entire discussion. I was amazed. And embarrassed. And sad for my country.

And now, it�s �All Pope, All Day�. Last night, I switched on CNN to see Christian Amanpour at the Vatican, reporting on....large crowds of Catholics standing around singing. Then they switched to Anderson Cooper giving us a 360 degree view of....Catholics standing around being sad.

What, precisely, does CNN think is going to happen here? Do they expect the pope to rise from the dead?

In the mean time, Senator John Cornyn is inciting violence against judges. Tom DeLay is squirming desperately to get out from under a pile of ethics charges. The front pages of European papers today were covered with reports of new evidence of environmental damage caused by human activities. The Patriot Act is up for renewal. The president is gutting the future with the blade of never-ending budget deficits.

But the MSM, in their wisdom, will make sure that we all keep our eyes focused intently on Jesus and wallow endlessly in a swamp of sentiment and ephemera. They�ll decide what we need to think about, thank you very much.

***

Addendum: Props to Attaturk for noticing that although the media gibber constantly about the late Pope�s social conservatism on social issues such as gay rights and abortion, one hears nary a peep about his economic liberalism, his absolute opposition to the death penalty, or his strong and vociferous opposition to GW�s war in Iraq. Or that those last three positions are just as seamlessly congruent with the classical tradition of Christian faith and practice as the first two.

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last 5 entries:
a dream of sky, 2003-2005, rest in peace - 2005-05-19
because we can't have people DYING! - 2005-05-17
reality check - 2005-05-17
did you get that thing i sent ya? - 2005-05-17
liberals and their fancy "facts"... - 2005-04-26