If that outlook motivated people who had no history of political involvement, what would you expect of someone who has been aware and active for years? Take, for example, the tale of someone who goes by the pseudonym blue collar doc.
I Know It When I See It
Last week, blue collar doc objected to seeing Fox News playing on the television in his dentist's waiting room. In polite society, such an offense might generate a snicker, or a shrug of resignation. In this case, politeness met commitment. The result unfolds in an open letter to the dentist:
I have been utilizing your services for the past four years, and have been completely satisfied. Unfortunately, when I came in for a cleaning yesterday, I was quite distressed to be subjected to political propaganda. The Fox Propaganda Network was on the TV in your waiting room. In my opinion, there is no place for this type of programming in a place of business; frankly, pornography would not have any more objectionable.
[ … ]
This network validates the most destructive xenophobic instincts in our society, and for me to overlook transgressions of this type would be a violation of my most basic principles. In addition, businesses who subject their patrons to this trash must be informed that not all approve. While I hold no personal animosity toward you or your staff, I have no choice but to seek dental services elsewhere.
That's the end of the letter, but is it the end of the story? Many trusted news outlets shirked their responsibility by being compliant with the Bush administration. Fox News slithered past compliance and embraced advocacy. Their pretense of “Fair and Balanced" was dismantled by Al Franken (and his 14 Harvard Kennedy School of Government graduate-assistants) in the book, Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right. Franken's graphic representation of a Fox News former evening program is a concise distillation of the truth about the network. The show pitted a demagogic neoconservative ideologue against a tepid liberal. Its name was typeset as Hannity & colmes.
Who Do You Trust?
Fact-checking on the web and in newspapers was prominent in the 2008 presidential election, but a recent Pew poll found that 70% of people rely on television for national and international news. A Zogby poll taken since the election identified Fox News as the most trusted television news source, topping CNN and MSNBC combined. However, the most significant finding is that the web, with access to news sources all over the world, beats every other medium for trustworthiness.
If you value trust and good judgment as much as I (and our protagonist) do, a dentist's preference for Fox News is a valid reason to move on, but as veteran Democratic Party campaign strategist Joe Trippi said in October of 2008, Barack Obama marks the end of the television presidency.
