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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tom Clarke who wrote (224741)	10/18/2007 1:49:02 PM
From: Neeka	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 793955

Funny, I think most of us are a bit more circumspect now that we realize that not everything is as it appears. I guess that would be one by product of the age of the Internet. The natural inclination to trust what we're being told has been seriously eroded, and most of us now realize that we've been spoon fed a bunch of hooey for a very long time. Before the Internet and cable tv, I'd always looked forward to watching the evening news and usually rearranged my chores to make sure I could. I have always been curious and I wanted to know what was happening in the world. I remember having the feeling that something wasn't right about the same time that "Uncle Walter" left and Dan Rather came on board. Like not really believing in my heart of hearts the "known fact" that the NYTs really was THE authority. And never in a million years wanting to believe that these "trusted" entities would skew the news to fit their own personal agenda. Then I saw with my own eyes real, bona fide examples of lying, and I listened to what "Uncle Walter" had to say after he retired and watched him as he fully explain just exactly who he was. I thought about past wars, and the VN war, and foreign affairs, and our nation's social programs. and where our nation was going, and who we elected to lead us and why, and about how much influence men like them had in forming our nation. And I realized that so called "respected and learned" reporters and journalists, and editorialists......the ones we all trusted and admired.......had an agenda that spilled over into everything they did and said. An agenda that I did not like one bit I remember having an argument with John M about the NYTs a long time ago. I did not trust them, nor did I accept the idea that they were THE final authority on the "news." Of course at that time they were THE source that everyone else drew their news from, but I could see the bias. I thought then.....and still do.......that to trust and rely on only one source for your information was/is dangerous and naive. For too many years we all just took at face value that what reporters and journalists said was true. Then we found out that a lot of people will spin the truth in order to influence people. Thanks to the Internet, I've learned how words work and what words to look for. How to do my own research and to verify before I trust. I've learned how narrow minded and one sided some people in powerful or prominent positions really are. In my personal relationships, many of my friends and family have expressed frustration and skepticism and they do not trust modern reporting either. I think.........but am not yet sure.........that is a good thing. I'm hoping that this age of skepticism turns out to be a positive for us all.