Political Bias, Media Bias, Liberal Bias, Conservative bias, political slogans, dangerous people
Wednesday April 1, 2009
Today's Zinger:
The most dangerous people in the world are those that tell you what you want to hear.
Opinion:
I was in a doctor's office yesterday and he recommended that I spend some time with the health center and dietitian to come up with a plan to control my weight and learn more about the foods that help prevent disease as we get older. Since the doctor and I are friends our conversation quickly led to personal experiences. He soon admitted that he had gone to the center and he didn't go back. He spoke of the Lipid Witch. "Boy, she is tough, she is really tough. I quit going back because she wanted me to stop eating certain foods and stop drinking certain things. I enjoy those things." So he has now started working with someone that tells him more of what he wants to hear, not what he needs to hear.
Politics is much the same. Some of us are liberal at heart and tend to listen to NPR or NBC news, read The Huffington Report or other left leaning websites. We avoid social settings that have too many conservatives/Republicans because we find their way of thinking wrong minded. Others are conservative and listen to Fox News or Rush Limbaugh and read the New Republic and avoid social settings with too many liberals/Democrats because we find their way of thinking wrong minded.
I play golf each week with a group of friends that are mostly conservative in their thinking. There is one player who is a very liberal minded individual. I always seek out this person to share the cart because his views tend to be somewhat different than my own He is a well educated individual that is well read. While he is strong minded toward liberal concepts he is however fair. I hold myself out as being open minded and willing to change if the facts are supportive of the argument. This person challenges my thinking and does not try to insult me with tired rhetoric. This is difference from what we find with most people.
Most of us have become so polarized in our thinking that we can't stand to listen to the other side talk. We have a way of listening to alternative thinking...blah....blah...blah. It is called "already listening". We have been around the other side so long that as soon as they open their mouth or utter a few words we know what they are going to say. A conservative friend wants to comment on Barack Obama's domestic economic policy. Already you assume you know where this is going. Socialism, taxes, deficits, lack of accountability, etc.
Another friend that tends towards liberal thinking wants to comment on George Bush. You anticipate the tired slogans of "This Administration, He lied, the failed policies of the Bush Administration, the illegal Iraq War, war criminal, torturer, etc".
The news media and the political parties have created these images. The liberals branded George Bush as "failed" and the conservatives branded the Democrats as "Socialists". In a world of short attention spans, brands and labels allows us to paint an image with few words. To be heard in our society you must be bold. The bolder the better, therefore, you have talk show hosts like Rush Limbaugh saying "I hope Obama Fails". On the left you have Rachael Maddow or Keith Olbermann saying the "illegal government of the Bush Administration or stupid Bush." Unfortunately for all of us, even the news media has branded the news and facts with slogans such as "income disparity", "declining middle class" without a real understanding of what is going on. The reason is simple. It gets your attention and it doesn't require them to spend much time or money getting to the facts. They rely on the analysis of others.
The majority of Americans are politically "Center Thinking". They care about a fiscally responsible government while also caring about those citizens that need help getting through difficult times. They want to be left alone by the government, but they want the government to protect the country, implement rational controls in our economy and build and maintain infrastructure. Very few people believe that the government is efficient or knows best regarding business, health care, etc. They don't want the government pushing their power into private business or personal concerns. The majority of people do not want religion in politics but also don't want politicians to turn their back on the religious traditions of this country.
So, if so many people tend to agree on what they want, why is it that there is so much disagreement? Simple, to be heard you must be bold. If we agree then there is nothing to be heard. If we disagree, or we are disagreeable, we will be heard.
Both political parties want to be heard. To control power they must be in power. The way to gain power is to appeal to the broadest segment of voters. And as we know, most of us tend to listen to those that tell us what we want to hear. Illegal immigrants want amnesty, uninsured want free health care, unemployed want subsistence and jobs, retired want increases in Medicare and Social Security, gun owners want to keep their guns, rich people don't want to pay more taxes, etc.
We have reached a point where the special interests are getting a greater say over the majority. Politicians tell them what they want to hear. These politicians, supported by the media, are dangerous. The truth is we need to hear something quite different, that many of us may not want to hear. Those that are concerned about the long term health of our country need to vote with our head and not our emotions. Our politicians need to avoid the labels and group think. Many of us vote for an ideology through a specific party which reinforces the labels.
I recommend that you start reading and listening to the other side. Take a liberal/conservative to lunch. Set some ground rules such as no slogans and no name calling. Bring real facts and not emotions. Most importantly, listen for commonality and understand what really drives the differences. I understand that there are some people so closed minded or filled with political slogans that they are impenetrable. This is not the case for most people.
Listen to NBC if you normally listen to Fox, or visa-versa. Don't yell at the TV when they say something you don't like or you disagree. Listen for their point of view and why they believe this. Meet with a group of neighbors and have real discussions. Go into these meetings with facts and with the objective of better understanding. Starting with small groups will lead to larger groups. Don't be tempted to invite only those people that think like you do. Be open minded and seek common ground. If our politicians would do this we could solve most of our problems. How can we ask our politicians to do it if we can't do it ourselves. When you get a functioning group do something bold. Invite a politician and show them how. Tell them what they need to hear, not what they want to hear.
Start by searching outside the mainstream media.Measure your opinion and thoughts based on our constitution. Forget the labels Dem./Rep.
" The key to ignorance is being satisfied with the knowledge one possesses. The key to knowledge is the desire to exchange one level of knowledge for a higher one."
Reply to this
This article is full of common sense, a trait I associate with the "Center Thinking" majority you write about. Two comments:
1. I suggest that Center Thinking people are sensitive to any abuse of power be it by government, the judiciary, or private enterprise. And when one gets out of kilter (right now it is the financial markets) then people look to the other two (right now it is government and the judiciary) to redress abuses.
2. Roger, you wrote "to be heard in our society you must be bold." Maybe you are too generous and perhaps off the mark. I think it is better said that "to get on and stay on the Media circuit you have to be shrill and opinionated." I think we are in danger of identifying the Media as "Society" which it is not. To be honest I cannot deduce a useful point of view from CNBC or Fox, for example, only self-righteousness in service of ratings. My hope (and opinion) is that there are many more than we think who like you are not captured by the noise and are engaging in thoughtful dialog.
Thanks for the article
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