Why? Because the GOPTP (Tea party led Republican party) has definitely become cultist.
I am not referring to mainstream Republican members nor am I referring to anyone who has a political philosophy 180% opposite of mine.
A healthy democracy requires constructive and often passionate debates and diverse ideas to sustain itself. And to be fair, during the 1960's and 1970's the far left was under a cult like hypnotic spell.
However, the GOPTP -- in messianic fervor -- has been marching under the banner of doctrines erected by Fox World, Inc. The cult figure of unadulterated adoration and worship is the mythical (not historical) Ronald Reagan. And they worship at the Reagan altar with unshakable faith.
The historical Reagan raised taxes when necessary, grew the size of government, wanted to crackdown of corporate welfare, negotiated with Democrats for the benefit of our country and authored a sweeping Immigration Reform.
The mythical Reagan hated Democrats, never supported tax revenue increases, shrank government and was our most popular president (for more on mythical Reagan read Washpost). Never letting facts get in the way of a false belief, Fox World created a Reagan god for their minions.
Next, to be a successful cult you can not have your devotees questions the accuracy/validity of the big message nor can you have them getting outside information.
Solution: erect the Mainstream Liberal Media bias myth. Once this fabrication in firmly ensconced in the minds of their recruits they can better control not just the information flow -- they can control how outside information is processed. Net result: any unapproved information is considered tainted liberal bias and therefore dead on arrival.
As an African-American male, I would love to be a by-product of a liberal media bias. The reality is that the overall narrative of the African-American male -- brother Trayvon Martin withstanding -- tilts very heavily on the negative and stereotypical end of the spectrum.
Furthermore, here is the truth of corporate media control and ownership:
Did you know that Viacom owns 160 cable channels that reach more than 600 million people worldwide?
Or that the Hearst Corporation owns 31 television stations and 20 U.S. magazines?
Or that Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. owns (seemingly) everything? The company’s holdings include the FOX Broadcasting Company, FOX News, the Wall Street Journal, theNew York Post, the Daily News, HarperCollins Publishers, 20th Century Fox and the scandal-plagued News International. (And that’s not all.)
To learn more about which companies are currently dominating the U.S. media landscape,check out our updated media ownership chart. We’ve got information on all the big players in TV and radio; cable and telecommunications; print and the Internet. It’s not a pretty picture … and it shows the dramatic impact mergers and acquisitions have had in the last few decades. source
I don't know if you saw it, but I have an image in my sidebar which addresses the Fox cult. The right-wing noise machine has been extremely effective in convincing their followers that liberal media bias exists. In case you haven't read it, here is the link to some interesting info about how conservatives have essentially been "working the refs" in an effort to get more favorable coverage:
ReplyDeletehttp://makethemaccountable.com/myth/LiberalMedia.htm
Good stuff Malcom...I just read the following from your link and it says it all:
ReplyDelete“Bill Kristol, perhaps the most honest and intelligent conservative in Washington (excluding, of course, that funny, friendly, charming McCain fellow). ‘The press isn't quite as biased and liberal. They're actually conservative sometimes,’ Kristol said recently on CNN. If Chris missed that one, he might have come across a similar admission by Kristol offered up in the spring of 1995. ‘I admit it,’ Kristol told The New Yorker. ‘The whole idea of the 'liberal media' was often used as an excuse by conservatives for conservative failures.’”