The Priesthood of the Media

A priest is a mediator between mortals and a god. 

The priests of the Roman Catholic Church served as the mediators between God and the people of Christendom for centuries.  The Church guarded and interpreted the scriptures.  The priests  instructed them about proper worship.  Reformers of the 1500s challenged the role of priests, asserting that people needed no intermediary to communicate with God.  Many paid dearly for daring to translate the Bible into contemporary languages, providing for the masses unfiltered access to the word of God.

Today the media serve as the priests of the political progressive movement. 

Seeking to honor their deity and further the cause, the media control the flow of information.  They create news by polling the public and reporting only the “helpful” results.  Scandals are dismissed.  Hard questions are never asked.  They worship the political machine with its good intentions, as it advances the progressive political agenda.  The media dutifully report this large, growing government’s version of the truth.  Even as the government oversteps its Constitutional limits, the media believe that the honorable agenda is being served.

But the story changes.  The government is caught deceiving the media.  Journalists’ phone records are subpoenaed.  The attorney general offers to speak to the press “off the record.”  Reports show that telephone companies have been forced to provide information about all their customers’ phone calls for at least seven years.  The IRS  hinders the work of the government’s political opponents.  The overreaching government begins to impinge on the freedom of its priests. 

The god has betrayed the priests.  The priests are dumbfounded.  This good, progressive government now seems to be less than holy.  The priesthood has lost its leader, and no longer knows how to spin the news.

The media now understand the painful truth that the Founders knew all too well:  Power corrupts.  It corrupts even those with good intentions.  It corrupts progressives and conservatives alike.  Power weaves corruption into the culture of countless government agencies. 

The deeper the corruption, the more difficult it is to expose.

A system of checks and balances can help keep people honest.  Government is not divine.  It always tends toward corruption.  The media-priests only awoke when they themselves were burned.  May the media learn to hold the government accountable.  And may we the people hold one another accountable.

Finally the press wakes up

Today the press finally acknowledged that there is substance to the Benghazi story.  The authorities chased down the Boston bombers right away, but apparently ignored the siege of a U.S. consulate.

Pressure from the press would have put Benghazi on the front page right away, but the main-stream media bought the story from the White House.  But now, it sounds like there is more to the story.

The press has an important role in a free country.  They must look for and expose abuse of power.  It's about time they dug for facts and asked the hard questions.

Agree with Me

Farmers were denied entry at a screening of the documentary film, “Gasland, Part II,” recently.  Apparently the promoters did not want people in the audience who did not agree with the thesis of the film, that fracking is bad.  http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2013/04/23/fracknation-filmmaker-claims-group-farmers-was-barred-from-gasland-part-ii/?intcmp=features

Politicians have been stacking crowds for years.  Only those who will cheer for the candidate are allowed in the audience.  When a trickster gets through and begins shouting or heckling, it causes a stir.  Agree with me or shut up.

I understand the desire to have a sympathetic audience.  But we need to be careful not to stifle honest, open debate.  The climate of political correctness has had a chilling effect on free speech. 

Because certain beliefs are assumed to be true, and are rarely challenged, there are certain things that cannot be said. 

• Social Security is a Ponzi scheme. 
• The pro-choice movement supports the right to choose who is a person. 
• Politicians (many, if not most) are motivated by political self interest and power.
• Both major political parties work to gain and retain power more than they work to support and defend the U.S. Constitution. 
• The news media are motivated by their own self interests of ratings and revenue; big government stories produce big audiences, so the media are biased toward bigger government. 
• Printing money will ruin our monetary system; it is only a matter of time before it falls apart.
• Personal morality is essential for civilization.
• Morality cannot be defined by majority vote.
• Guns owned by citizens protect citizens from government tyranny.
• Scientific evidence for Darwinian evolution has enormous gaps.
• Religions that encourage lying to advance their religion are dangerous.
• Entertainment often distracts citizens from the important issues.

Those who agree with the politically correct party line are given the microphone.  In the media, all we hear is one perspective.  When we hear it enough, we tend to believe it.  Even if it is not true.

Gun Control

The gun control advocates sense that the time is right to make some big changes.  The emotional tide is right.  There is far too little discussion about the reason we have a Second Amendment to the Constitution. 

The Founders had lived under the tyranny of England, and knew that citizens need protection against overstepping government. 

The real motivation behind gun control is not safer schools, but tighter government control of every aspect of life.  It is one thing to fear a rogue criminal with a gun.  It is another to fear the authorities who can systematically limit your freedoms, and ultimately put you in prison--or worse.

Hello again

It's been over three years since I have posted anything on this blog.  Even so, people have occasionally found my blog, and apparently read something.

I had even forgotten how I logged on to the blog.  I had my daughter, who was home from college for the weekend, help me break the code.  Now, I'm back in business. 

Ah, yes...where shall I start?

How about a quote?  I heard Ravi Zacharias say on a video blog:  "Any stigma can beat a good dogma."  You may speak the truth, but if people can malign you or your ideas, then your message won't be heard.  Well said, Ravi.

More on Toyota

Looks like there is more to the story on Toyota. A few days ago I learned that Toyota has "black boxes" in its cars, recording devices that note the state of systems just before and after air bag deployments.

These recordings can only be read with software created for (by?) Toyota, and only one computer in all the United States has this reading software. Seems like the company is not interested in making these crash data widely accessible.

If there is any willful withholding of information essential to public safety, then Toyota is clearly begging for investigation.

Unfortunately, the congress seems particularly ill-suited for leading a pursuit of the truth.

The Right Thing To Do

I heard the president say today that the congress should pass his health care reform bill because it is the right thing to do. How I wish that our governmental representatives were motivated by doing what is right.

Some politicians probably really have persuaded themselves that they are doing right when they vote for bigger and bigger government. But somewhere deep down, they have to know that something is wrong.

Spending is more than out of control. It is on auto-pilot, set to ratchet up every day and every year. While we owe so much money that we'll never pay it off, we are borrowing more. This week we are extending unemployment benefits, for only $10 billion. Chump change.

Everywhere I turn, I see more government spending. On the radio I hear commercial after commercial about some federal government info website. These commercials cost money and we are broke. I heard one yesterday directing me to a .gov website that will tell me how to be a better father. I'm all for good parenting, but the government has no business telling me how to raise my children.

Maybe there is a website that gives budgeting tips.