Navigating Through the Media

We live in a busy world where there barely seems to time to relax for some people. Whether it’s because of work, school, children, or keeping the house in order, we seem to have a chronic lack of time and thus we prefer things fast; fast food, fast internet, fast transportation, and fast news. Often times getting things faster is a good thing because it helps us be more productive and gives us more time to relax. However, Americans need to realize that some things simply cannot be rushed. One such thing is a cultivated and informed intellect. Due to Deweyan educational philosophy which has dominated American education since 1900, the traditional Republican ideal of the educated individual has gone by the wayside in favor of educational specialization. People are no longer educated but trained. This is extremely dangerous for our American Republic since an informed and educated electorate is fundamental to the democratic system.


It is our civic duty to elect representatives who will keep to the constitution and protect and better our country. Therefore it is important that every American, regardless of their status in society, be informed about current issues and their context and be able to discern between good and bad policies. To be a discerning voter one must also be a careful learner. Fast media is another thing we cannot afford in our society. As tempting as it is to get all of our information from media outlets we must remember that the primary concern of all media is ratings. This does not necessarily mean that media is untruthful but there is a tendency by the media to sensationalize and distort stories in order to get more viewers. The specific media outlet may also be motivated by the biases of many of the reporters and anchors, whether conservative or liberal. Finally most people working for new agencies are not experts in politics, history, or economics so their coverage of politics, world events, and policies may not always be trustworthy. Therefore, below I have written some advice as to how to be well-informed in the age of mass media.


1. Do not use mass media as your primary source of information on politics, policies, or the external world. As stated above, mass media can be sensationalized, over-simplified, biased, or simply uninformed. Take a break from reading fiction and read several good books on history and economics by scholarly, peer reviewed authors. Popular authors will have the same faults of mass media but a peer-reviewed book has been swept over for biases, inaccuracies, and distortion. These books will give you a good foundation for when you watch the news or read a newspaper so you can know about the historical context of an event and pick up distortions of the facts, sensationalizing, and oversimplification in the mass media.

2. Do not rely on the talking heads or talk radio for your information either. They can be interesting and entertaining or may even be political whistle blowers. Yet like mass media, despite claims otherwise, their chief concern is ratings. They also have the same concerns as traditional media outlets. In addition talk radio and talking heads do not even pretend to be unbiased so there is precious little critical thinking in the news they present.

3. Prefer newspapers and media outlets’ online articles to their visual counterparts. Having the text in front of you allows you carefully digest the information presented and reread parts of the article. Sometimes when something is said on TV it can sound better than it would if it were carefully read. Also, many anchors and reporters are chosen more so because of their attractive looks and good presentation than their expertise in the world around them, while newspapers and online articles do not have this problem

4. Whenever you watch the news or read the article look for the chief facts about the news story, thing such as what is the story about, where does it take place, and who is involved. Stay away from mass media interpretations of the stories and its significance. Use your own critical thinking, background studies, and later research to determine these. Also, do not feel obligated to read the entire article, but scan for the important facts.

5. Subscribe to a good monthly journal where significance and interpretation from the previous month can be discussed by experts.

6. Always think critically when reading or watching the news.

7. Do not watch the news media religiously but only keep the news on for extended periods of time when real news stories are under way, e.g. wars, elections, national crises, etc. All other times news tends to be hyped and sensationalized for ratings.

8. Remember, although blindly trusting the media is tempting because it is fast and easy accessible, it tends to always be of the highest quality because it depends on hyped headlines and non-experts. Therefore, do research on your own and make sure that you are an intellectually cultivated individual. The security and prosperity of our nation depends on it.

Some Thoughts on the Church

This morning I was grabbing some dollies from the parking at Lowe’s where I work when I came across a truck that was covered in bumper stickers that were conveying messages of what one might call the persuasion of the religious right. Essentially, they were comparing President Obama to the Antichrist and democrats as demons. Some of the bumper stickers used Bible verses while one was laced with profanity. Another thing to keep in mind that this couples of the “Religious Right” was at Lowe’s at 10:30 am on a Sunday morning (due to a scheduling mistake I was forced to work Sunday morning even though I had informed Lowe’s that I had church every Sunday). Now I am a both a committed Christian and a committed conservative. I am fearful that many of the programs that Obama is instituting are coming not from good economics but rather from the president’s commitment to egalitarianism and democratic socialism and will do a great deal of damage to this country’s economy and its finances. However, I believe that it is absolutely inappropriate to disrespect the President of the United States, especially by using sections of the Bible. St. Paul taught, regarding those in positions of civic authority, that we must give “respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.” (Romans 13:7). It is helpful to keep in mind that Paul was speaking of those very pagans were persecuted Christ’s Church.


What I saw this morning reinforced my fear that the Religious Right is doing more harm to Christianity than help. Some in the Religious Right are also extremely un-Biblical in their ministry, if it can be called that. They make many secular people fear giving Christianity any force in society because of the Religious Right’s angry rhetoric, such as: God Hates Gays, God allowed 9/11 to happen because of gays, and God sent Hurricane Katrina to punish New Orleans because of its immorality. First this is unbiblical because God forbids us to assume that we, apart from His Word, can assume to know His will (see Isaiah 55:9). They belie the fact that the chief message of Christianity is not hatred towards non-Christians but rather grace. Often Christians believe that must choose between a full-out crusade against secularists in society or acceptance. I would propose that neither of these choices are biblical. As Christians we are called to live godly lives, fulfill the Cultural Mandate, and fulfill the Great Commission. The Bible nowhere tells Christians to launch a Crusade against the non-Christians of the world. Rather non-Christians are to be dealt with evangelism, where as Christians we can convey to those who do not know Christ his wonderful love that, at the price of the cross, bought us grace so that we might be restored as the children of God.


Sometimes pastors, especially some of the ones I see on TV, give full sermons condemning the godlessness of the world. To be sure, the Bible affirms that the very definition of the “world” is that which is godless. It is the City of Man. Yet St. Paul says “For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. ‘Purge the evil person from among you.’” (I Corinthians 12-13). Christians must never accept the godlessness of City of Man, which is the world, but are to leave the judgment of the world to God. Rather Christians are to focus on improving the piety of the church. Christians need to say less harsh things about non-Christians and say more about the failure of those within the Church to fully live up to the model that Christ set for us. Over and over again the Apostles taught that the best way to transform the world for Christ was not through angry rhetoric but by living godly and joyful lives so that the world might see the power that is in Christ. Christians are also should be imitators of God’s mercy by loving the unsaved just as God loves us who were at one time also unsaved. It is important to remember St. Paul’s constant admonition not to boast. Thus Christians should remember that, apart from the grace of God, we are no different that the homosexuals, the sexually immoral, and the moral relativists who compose much of what Christians refer to as “the world.”


It is telling that all of the condemnations in the apostolic letters are aimed, not at condemning the world, but at condemning the immoral and scandalous behavior of those in the church. Christians always be models of God’s grace and love to fallen world as we are called to be imitators of Christ, who is described as the friend of sinners. So did God send 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina to punish immoral Americans? Perhaps, but only God knows for sure, therefore I will not speak with confidence as to why God allowed these things to happen. Personally, I believe it is just as likely that God sent for the church so that in a time of crisis God’s Church might emerge as a leader in these troubled times in a fallen world. Therefore, Christians should be concerned about improving the piety of the church so that the transforming power of Christianity can be truly manifested.

History

History is for most people a boring subject. For most this is because it is about the past, which people don’t feel has much to do with them. The American industrialist Henry Ford once said “history is bunk.”Many people would agree emphatically with his statement and add that they should never have to take the miserable subject in school ever again. However, before you write off history, let me pose this profound statement to you: history is the only thing you can know for certain. The scientist will immediately scoff at this statement. But please pause and think it over for a minute. Say you are researching how chemical A will react with chemical B. The event happens and you prepare to draw a conclusion. But upon what basis are you to make your conclusion? Why, it is history! The history of the event of the reaction of chemicals A and B. Unless as a person, you are capable of reliving the exact moment of the chemical reaction while simultaneously writing the conclusion your information is passed upon the memory of past events. We are all involved in history everyday by recalling past memories and interpreting them or understanding them.

History is fundamentally important to our everyday lives. We avoid touching a hot stove because we remember in the history of our lives touching such a stove once in the past and being burned by it. Most of our actions are based on our remembrance of the past. Imagine what your relationships would be like with your friends, girlfriends or boyfriends, and husbands or wives if you suddenly suffered a bout of amnesia and could not remember anything. You could not remember how to please them or talk to them or, if need be, deal with them. In reality everyone is concerned with history in one form or another. History is not important not only on a personal basis, however. If, as a society we refuse to remember the past we will be like the foolish little boy who cannot remember that the hot stove burns him. Now I do not mean in any way to convey in this analogy that history comes in cycles. I do not believe it does, but the problems and challenges we face today have been experienced by countless generations before us because they are the challenges and problems of humanity. It is foolish to have their examples and not learn from them. History does not repeat itself but the human experience and human characteristics endure throughout history. History does not simply teach us about people who lived long ago but also tells us about ourselves. It teaches what humanity is capable of; both in creative power and in depravity.

History is also important because cultures develop historically. History tells a great deal about where we and other countries in the world are today and how we got there. Understanding the history of the United States should be important to anyone who claims to be a good American citizen. We can understand what policies failed in the past and avoid them in the future. If you listen to any of the talking heads on TV or radio they almost always will try to use history as a verification of the policy they are promoting. If Americans had a better understanding of history they would see that such historical "proofs" are often the result of bad history (See my blog on historical fallacies). History helps develop a critical mind. An understanding of foreign cultures and how they developed is also key for voters who are elected leaders that deal with American foreign policy. I believe one the reasons that Americans are so disliked around the world is because we have a poor understanding of other countries. For instance, I believe that Americans have a poor understanding of the Middle East or even Europe which has not helped the United States positively interact with these areas of the globe.

I would encourage you to take a closer look at history and understand its importance. People are far too influenced by Deweyian "practical" education. The average person and even a great many in acamedia are specialists and do not have a broad education. As a result they tend to be very narrow minded. An education in engineering has a good many applications. It helps us build better buildings, machines, and bridges. But engineering cannot tell us more about the world around us or ourselves. History, which is ultimately the study of people throughout history, is the best at educating us about the world and equipping us with the tools to be good citizens.