"Whether you believe in helping the poor is a matter of values and not a matter of logic. Believing otherwise is the big progressive mistake over the last 40 years."
Conservative columnists like John Hawkins seem to subscribe to this view too. Writing on Townhall.com, he argues,
"The sad truth of the matter is that most Americans don't pay much attention to politics and those that do often just parrot doctrine instead of investigating issues with an open mind. This allows lies, myths, and dubious assertions to live on long after they should have shriveled and died in the light of day."
Surprisingly, he also quotes JFK: "No matter how big the lie; repeat it often enough and the masses will regard it as the truth."
Media outlets play a role in fashioning a culture of repetition, producing armies of "ditto heads" who are exposed to message-point pseudo-journalism that they, in turn, regurgitate to advance partisan agendas. This approach is built into the design of the new polarizing and politicized media system.
This leads, in the words of Vietnam War chronicler Tim O'Brian, to how "you lose your sense of the definite, hence your sense of truth itself."
He was writing about military wars abroad but his insight applies to political wars at home as well. We are all becoming casualties of a media war in which democracy is collateral damage.
Not surprisingly, the dominance of conservative media produces more people who align themselves as conservatives and will only understand the world that way.
The shortage of progressive media outlets limits the mass the circulation of progressive perspectives. No wonder the media marketplace is so devoid of competing ideas.
Beyond that, media outlets legitimize virtually all controversies as valid, however contrived they may be, just to have something to talk about. This legitimates subjects with the noise of continuing blather and contentious discussion featuring superficial analysis by unqualified pundits.
One consequence, according to GOP political consultant Mark McKinnon, is that voters cast ballots on attributes not issues.
"They want to see the appearance of strength in leaders, and are less persuaded by what they say," McKinnon said.
That means, news programs ultimately trade in fostering impressions, not conveying information. Viewers trust their feelings over facts.
Remember, one of the most profitable formats on cable TV is not news but wrestling driven by cartoonish characters and invented confrontations.
Is it any wonder that ratings-hungry news programs take a similar approach to political combat. They are in the business of producing numbers for advertisers more than explanations for viewers.
John Cory commented on the media role in legitimating the birther issue and turning it into a form of entertainment, calling it "a sorry and sad day for America."
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