Drinking the Poisoned Cool-Aid of American Politics

by Tom Hinton

My father used to remind his children to avoid conversations on politics and religion. “Stick to the weather,” he admonished us. “You’re not going to change somebody’s political or religious beliefs in a ten minute conversation. You’ll only alienate them.” It's sound advice if only I could follow it.

But, in this season of presidential politics, emotions run hot. It’s hard to bite my lip and not express an opinion. Recently, I had a few unpleasant exchanges with my sister about the 2008 presidential election. She’s a staunch Republican and thinks American will collapse if John McCain and Sarah Palin are not victorious in November. I’m also a registered Republican who thinks the Bush-Cheney Administration has been an unmitigated disaster and already caused serious economic havoc around the world. I’m supporting Barack Obama in the hopes that the Democrats will get America back on the right track. After several heated exchanges, nothing had changed. She likes McCain and I want a new direction. We agreed to disagree. Dad was right.

But, the most disturbing aspect of these election conversations I’ve had with those who espouse the far-Right Republican position is their extreme views and outrageous allegations about Senator Obama and the Democrats. For example, my sister is an educated, middle-class woman who truly believes that our current economic demise has been caused by a conspiracy. The conspirators are ACORN, a non-profit organization that advocates voter rights and voting registration, and Senator Barack Obama. She also believes that, if elected, Obama will undermine America’s national security by siding with the terrorists given his Arab background and pro-Muslim (and, therefore, anti-Christian) beliefs. I was dumbfounded to hear my sister espouse these views. How could she believe such drivel?

Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. Obama is a Christian and his ethnic roots are in Kenya and Kansas. Obama is the son of a white Kansas woman and a black African who came to the United States from Kenya, Africa. Like John McCain and Joe Biden, Obama is a United States Senator. Obama is also a Harvard graduate, a veteran of Chicago politics, long-time Illinois resident, married to a talented lawyer, and they have two young daughters. You don’t get much more American than that!

So, where do people like my sister come up with these warped beliefs that are based on such outrageous innuendos, outright lies, and destructive rumors? I asked her where she got her information and she told me that she listened religiously to Fox News as well as two radio shows hosted by Rush Limbaugh and Michael Savage. Since I wasn't really tuned in to these media programs, I decided that for two weeks I would conduct a personal experiment to find out if these media sources were poisoning the well from which conservative American voters like my sister get their information.

Regrettably, I discovered that Fox News and the radio personalities she listens to are not only fueling the fires of hatred and divisiveness among Americans with their vitriolic, biased rantings, but they are the spring source from which many of the lies, fabrications, innuendos, and misstatements about Senator Obama originate. During my two week listening experiment, I made note of the various comments and statements that sounded dubious or false made by the Fox News anchors and reporters as well as Mr. Limbaugh and Mr. Savage. I did not keep track of the exaggerated opinions of the many pundits and guests who appeared on these various programs. In a two-week timespan, I counted more than 362 comments that were either blatantly false or grossly misleading including repeated claims that Obama was a Muslim, Arab, or he supported terrorists. This included two terrorist-related remarks during interviews with the Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and two anti-American remarks about Obama from a Republican congresswoman who represented St. Cloud, Minnesota. In none of those cases did the reporter conducting the interview try to correct these candidates' gross misstatements.

I was so disgusted with the slanted reporting that these media outlets practiced that it moved me to write this article and raise the question, Why? Why do people who call themselves journalists and are entrusted with reporting the news or advocate a certain political philosophy resort to lies, fabrications, innuendos, and misstatements to make their case? Is it not enough to merely say to their viewers that they disagree with Obama and the Democrats and build their argument on the facts? Why must they spew such toxic and hateful messages? This is wrong and a gross disservice to the ethics and values upon which America was founded. Americans should stand-up and say “enough!” Perhaps, they will as they vote on Election Day.

When those who are entrusted with reporting the news and offering their views on presidential politics and national elections resort to poisoning the well from which voters must drink to quench their thirst for information and facts in order to make an educated decision to elect the next president of the United States, a terrible disservice is done. Certainly, everybody is entitled to their opinion and even a fool has the right to espouse their beliefs in America. But, when professional commentators, reporters, and radio personalities spew a message of divisiveness and hatred by knowingly fanning the political flames with their lies and misrepresentations, they have lost their right to be called professionals let alone journalists. They have reduced themselves to overpaid entertainers and jokers, and poor ones at that!

I subscribe to the belief that in American politics both parties embrace a core philosophy and their standard-bearers typically reflect the views of their party. I also think it’s important from time to time to shake-up the Congress and White House just to keep everyone in-line. I have never been one to simply vote the party slate. Blind allegiance is unhealthy. I think political balance is good. Democrats and Republicans as well as other political parties offer American voters an important choice, and choice is essential to preserving any democracy.

Finally, while conducting my fair-and-balanced media experiment over the past two weeks, I decided to re-read the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America. Since manyreporters and pundits were critical of Governor Sarah Palin’s inept response to an elementary question regarding the job of the vice president, I decided to review these two documents. These are amazing works by our Founding Fathers. Anyone who wants clarity about the vision, values, and mechanics of America's experiment with democracy should read these masterpieces. I also encourage you to read them to your teen-agers so they understand why the United States of America was established and what we truly stand for. I think too many Americans, especially in the fringe media, have forgotten these principles and could benefit from a refresher course.