From: Mark Steven Heyman (MarkHeyman@infoproconsulting.com)
Date: Wed Apr 27 2005 - 06:16:03 BST
In another thread, Platt Holden scolded Arlo:
People do not buy goods and services "without regard or thought to
support the wealth acquisition of corporate America." They spend
their earnings on what they value for themselves, their families and
their friends. Your statement "without thought" reflects the leftist
view that Americans are too stupid to know what's good for them,
which of course by your lights was the reason the majority re-elected
George Bush.
msh says:
Bush was elected by barely half of less than half of Americans who
were eligible to vote, though the commercial media would have us
believe this was some kind of landslide mandate. This brings up an
interesting question, one which I believe is related to the struggle
between the intellectual and social levels which will be explored in
this thread. The question is "Do people really believe what
commercial media tell us they believe?"
My claim is that some of us really think that people spend their
money on what they value, and that the commercial media have no
effect on this behavior; I think this is highly doubtful, though it
may be true. But are the folks who act this way REALLY
representative of the majority? I submit that the people who act
this way are presented as the norm BY the commercial media, for
obvious reasons. Therefore, people who rely on commercial media for
information that shapes their world view are likely to believe that
everyone is really crazy about commercialism. And, of course the
idea extends beyond commercialism to views about health care, war,
poverty, crime, religion, the environment, etc.
I'll leave you with a brief essay from Sam Smith of the Progressive
Review, for our contemplation and future discussion:
THE BIGGEST MEDIA SIN
WHICH AMERICAN political party best reflects the views of a majority
of citizens on the Iraq war, environmental issues, health care,
campaign financing, population growth, genetically modified foods,
and marijuana use?
The answer, based on various polls, is the Green Party.
That you may not be aware of this points to a problem with American
journalism far more important than plagiarism, blogs, or Fox News,
namely that our media - for all its professed objectivity - is
stunningly biased towards the views of the American elite and
particularly those who buy space in their papers or time on their
channels.
On the environmental issue alone, the Green Party has been proven by
the latest scientific data far more prescient and sane than either of
the older parties. Yet the media prefers to dismiss, discredit or
disregard the Greens as well as leaders who share their views such as
David Cobb or Ralph Nader.
But let's assume for a moment that one is not entitled to coverage
simply for being right and let's adopt the childish media view that
the only ideas that count are those that demonstrate sufficient
strength at the polls. We're still left with all those Americans who
agree with the Greens and don't know it:
- The 52% of Americans who think Iraq war was not worth fighting.
- The resolutions critical of the Patriot Act that have been passed
in 378 communities in 43 states including six state-wide resolutions.
- The 68% who find the "problems of the global environment: global
warming, destruction of rainforests, destruction of species, loss of
ozone layer" to be very or extremely important to their life.
- The 62% of Americans who support universal health coverage as
opposed to the current system.
- The 68% of the public who support a version of public campaign
financing used in several states.
- The 78% who think population is growing too fast.
- The 80% or more of Americans who believe "protecting the
environment will require most of us to make major changes in the way
we live," that an underlying cause of environmental problems is that
"the way we live produces too much waste," that "we focus too much on
getting what we want now and not enough on future generations," that
"we need to treat the earth as a living system," and that "Americans
should have more respect and reverence for Nature."
- The 61% of the American public who oppose arresting and jailing
nonviolent marijuana smokers.
- The 76% who believe that large companies have too much concentrated
power.
- The 73% who agree with the statement: "I regard myself as a citizen
of the world as well as a citizen of the United States."
Why do we hardly ever see any of these folks on cable television, on
the op ed pages of the Washington Post or the New York Times, or
mentioned in political analyses? It would be interesting, for
example, for a columnist to attempt to square the red vs. blue,
Christian vs. secular dichotomies currently in fashion with some of
the data above. Or to ask the question: do our elites want us to hate
each other so we don't find out what's really on our minds? And what
we have in common?
The Harris polling people report that over the past ten years 31
million Americans have had someone close to them die after the
removal of life support systems, but the media would have us believe
it only happened once in Florida. 29,999,999 true stories left untold
so one more divisive myth could be created.
Here then is the real sin of America's media: It has created an
America it chooses to see, not the one that exists. It has denied
access to its pages and its channels to voices representing the
majority or even greater percentages of Americans on key issues. And
it has made us dislike each other even when on many of the critical
issues that it ignores or distorts we have much in common.
Sam Smith, Editor
The Progressive Review
prorev-subscribe@topica.com
Best,
Mark Steven Heyman (msh)
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