A Bit Fruitless

This AM my daily perusal of CNN Web headlines turned up this one; “Dad: Marine Felt Mission ‘a bit Fruitless’”. 

Such a headline certainly lets one know what CNN thinks of the mission in Iraq. The power of the mainline press to shape public opinion remains large, and one of the reasons it remains large is that it is subtle enough for a lot of people to not even understand they are being manipulated. CNN can decide what family views they decide to put on headlines, but unless they make an explicit attempt to “poll all military families that have lost soldiers”, or some other likely equally heartless technique, it is unsurprising to see headlines like the above. 

The press and the left likes to point out that “talk radio”, “Karl Rove”, or other forces have “manipulated Americans”, which is of course true. We are surrounded by a LOT of forces that manipulate our opinions, some because they believe what they say, and some explicitly to manipulate for other purposes. 

In the world of ideas, “buyer beware”, and “comparison shopping” is far more critical than even the consumer world. It is no surprise that the media dislikes any competition in the realm of ideas.

What would the ratio of headlines like the following be to those like the above if a “fair method” was used?; “He was doing what he wanted and believed we had to protect freedom”, “He cared about the Iraqi people, and wanted to do whatever he could to give them a chance at freedom”, or “eHe believed in the mission and what he was doing, he knew the risks” . 

There is very little way we can know, although most of us that pay attention to local news, and some non-headline stories at the national level have seen sentiments like those I manufactured. That is somewhat unsurprising since we have a volunteer military force that at least in some cases likely had reasons for going into the military that might even come close to the honorable reasons all journalists have for going into their profession ... admittedly the highest calling of mankind, worthy of special honor and much constitutional protection if the papers are to be believed!

We all have biases, but the mainline media never admits to their biases, while the conservative media does. Fox is a new odd case … an outlet that attempts to show both sides, often in an explicit point-counterpoint format, but they make an attempt. The fact that NY Times, NBC, CBS, etc consider Fox biased for even providing a conservative perspective gives a pretty good indication of the level of their own bias. They find it an affront that somebody out there is willing to present a conservative view in anything other than a purely negative light.

For the “general public” though, it is the more subtle bias as in the headline of this news article that has the greatest effect. The constant “little stories” in which the bias is in what is selected to be reported vs what is not selected, and in what is the headline vs what is buried at the end of the piece. Day in and day out, the views of the reporters … that Iraq is hopeless, that the economy is bad, that the administration is corrupt, that the country is being run by the religious right, that things are “generally bad”, becomes the “common view” for those that are not selective in the ideas that constantly bombard their minds.

Don’t believe anything that you read at face value, even this blog. At BEST, it is someone doing their utmost to find the truth by looking at reality with all the honesty and capability they have. Since it is just one foolish human doing that, multiple sources are REQUIRED.