Fixing the Media Mess
(Blog 0010 AndrewHadden.com)
The media attack any president, whose political leanings don’t match their own, with impunity, due to a Supreme Court ruling setting a different standard for libel and slander of public figures than for ordinary citizens. A public official, or public figure, has to prove “actual malice,” a very hard thing to do. The president attacks them back, to survive politically, but civil discourse for the good of the country suffers. The whole media environment becomes vicious and polarized. Many in the media wield tremendous power to control elections, yet they have ceased to be neutral reporters of facts, and mix in their opinions and judgments freely, and still call it “news.” And biased “commentators,” on news shows and news channels, go even farther, mocking those they do not want to successfully run for office, or even have a respected voice in the nation. The media have been given a privileged place in America, but have acted in ways unforeseen by the founding fathers, and have proven themselves unworthy of special protections.
The constitution gives due process rights to face one’s accusers, and cross-examine them to help prove the falsehood of accusations against them, before a judgment and penalty can be imposed. However, the media holds court on important representatives of the people, and candidates for offices, without that due process. This is due to secret accusers being allowed to stay secret, or being excused from appearing and being cross-examined, and using unqualified and biased people to issue what should only be opinions of highly qualified and unbiased professionals, acting under the standards of their profession (such as opinions of someone’s mental health). In court, witnesses have to appear and be cross-examined, and expert witnesses should be accepted as unbiased and expert and following proper professional rules. The media has apparently been exempted from all these rules, because they can violate them freely and yet not be taken to court to give their victims their due process rights. A past decision of the Supreme Court did that.
The moral authority for due process comes from Judeo-Christian ethics, and that comes from the Bible, in both the Law of Moses and the New Testament words of Christ. Christ talked in Matthew 18 of a process requiring more than one witness to have an accusation received/regarded against a person, and he referred to, by quoting it, Deuteronomy 19:15 and following, laying out due process for diligent inquiry, multiple witnesses, and the accused being able to face his accusers and give an answer. Secret accusation was not allowed. One person’s uncorroborated testimony was not enough to condemn. Two or three witnesses were required. And those found to be giving false testimony were condemned to the penalty they tried to bring upon the innocent. There was a proportionate and very real penalty, and deterrent, for false accusation. America needs some deterrent to stop this mess destroying our country.
The press has been allowed to thrive on uncorroborated gossip, slander, libel, and secret accusation for far too long, especially when they can control elections, and the country, by doing so. This must be addressed to save the nation and dethrone the media as our rulers. Even God says they rule America. Stay silent and it remains so. Act and save the nation from this mess. Silence is cowardice that allows evil to rule us all.
This would not be so bad if there were thousands, or at least hundreds, of media outlets with significant followings. But that was lost with the Communications Act of 1996, signed by Bill Clinton, which allowed the media to devour their competition and cross former boundaries, until six behemoth companies, and six people at the top, can essentially control the “truth,” the elections, and the nation. It did do some good, in giving us cheaper phone bills, but it did not have to make this mess destroying the country, too. We would be much better off to return to the laws before 1996, but perhaps we can do better. We could again separate ownership of movie makers and theaters, of newspapers and TV stations or radio stations, magazines, and books – including textbooks. We need independent voices of truth and those with better ethics creating our “news” and controlling our nation. And they control even our thoughts and opinions without us even realizing it. We have antitrust laws to protect us from diminished competition or monopolies. The same concept must be applied to those trying to control the nation by controlling information and opinions.
But this won’t be fixed easily. With the Supreme Court making these mistakes, only they can unmake them – unless we box them in by way of the voice of the people through constitutional amendments.
There are other problems to be solved. Again and again, the people pushed their elected officials to try to protect even children from pornography, but, again and again, the Supreme Court protected the pornographers (part of the media) instead. Why should the Supreme Court protect what the founding fathers, the authors and approvers of the constitution never would have? Does the media control them too? Or perhaps they control the elections, and then those elected that appoint judges, and then the process to put judges on the Supreme Court? Does the media really rule us? God shocked me by saying the media rules America. We need to dethrone them and create common-sense boundaries for the courts so we can trust them again. Those boundaries can only be created by constitutional amendments supported by the people and their elected representatives.
If those elected (by the media) won’t follow the will of the people, we must replace them. We must find and follow trusted, truthful, media sources to even know who are good candidates to be elected – and that will take diligence on the part of every American. And we need good people to have the courage to face the vicious media and run for office for the sake of their fellow Americans, and their own children and grandchildren. And the media have been legitimately shown to be the most Anti-Christian segment of American society.