Logic Times

The Importance of Rathergate

Posted by Aslan.  Comments (1)

The Rathergate fraud is a big deal and not just as it relates to the upcoming election.  In a recent editorial, the Wall Street Journal hinted at the evolution of the media from monolithic bias to a chaotic and diverse stew of opinions, and this trend is breathtaking in its potential for toppling liberalism.

The modern incarnation of liberalism exists because the fourth estate has abrogated their fundamental responsibility to avoid disinformation.  The Center for Democracy and Governance defines the constitutional role of the press: “First, it ensures that citizens make responsible, informed choices rather than acting out of ignorance or misinformation. Second, information serves a ‘checking function’ by ensuring that elected representatives uphold their oaths of office and carry out the wishes of those who elected them.”

Liberalism is built upon misinformation.  Consider President Bush.  In my personal encounters with Bush-haters, I have yet to be exposed to a single fact supporting such vitriol.  Certainly there are some – an ardent socialist, for example, would be vehemently opposed to tax cuts on philosophical grounds – but such arguments are never advanced.  Instead, the Goebbels-esque propaganda of Michael Moore is thrown in my face, or rampant Halliburton corruption is described to me with all sorts of aggressive body language.

The media is responsible for the nurturing and proliferation of this sort of disinformation.  By trumpeting their constitutional purity, they seduce well-intentioned liberals, who must still believe that the media lives in the world of facts.  Yet, they have long ago walked away from any pretense of informing the electorate.  The media does not want to inform, only persuade.

Consider Kitty Kelley, Richard Clarke, Joseph Wilson…Michael Moore.  The facts all disprove the claims of these people to even a casual observer.  A properly functioning media would have speedily relegated these types to the tabloid papers where they belong.  Yet these fools sit next to former presidents and enjoy record-setting exposure on widely watched programs.

Rathergate is exposing the failure of the press to do its constitutional duty.  This is a tremendous boon for conservatism, and the louder the crash of CBS, the more will take notice that the old edifice of the fourth estate is crumbling and seek their news elsewhere.  Such alternative sources, which are more closely linked to reality and the world of facts, may very well suck the life out of liberalism.

Copyright ©  2004 Dan Hallagan. All Rights Reserved.