On My Last Nerve - Democratic Underground

NanceGreggs

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Thu Sep-11-08 09:54 PM
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On My Last Nerve

Edited on Thu Sep-11-08 10:42 PM by NanceGreggs

An Open Letter to the American News Media:

As much as I try to avoid even the most peripheral contact with what passes for the news media these days, it is unfortunately inevitable that certain headlines will make their mark before I can avert my eyes, or that I hear the distant babbling of a talking-head while searching for more palatable TV fare.

And what I read and hear of late is that we Democrats are “nervous” about our chances in November, a statement usually coupled with an analysis that our fears are the result of a waning enthusiasm for our candidates.

Although I realize that most of you out there in the news media won’t recognize the phrase “setting the record straight”, no less it’s function, I will forge ahead and set the record straight for you nonetheless.

Our support of our candidates, Obama and Biden – along with our party members running for other offices – has never been stronger. As for our enthusiasm, a quick check of the facts (yet another concept you are unfamiliar with) amply demonstrates that record-breaking campaign contributions, numbers of on-the-ground volunteers, and participants at Obama-Biden events continues unabated.

What makes us “nervous” is not our inability to win this election fair-and-square, but the fact that the possibility of yet another stolen election always looms large. It’s happened to us before, and we rightfully fear it could happen again.

Of course, the very idea that elections can be stolen – through voting machines that have been proven to be hackable in order to manipulate vote counts, through voter caging, through a myriad of clearly immoral as well as illegal practices – even being a possibility in our country is deplorable.

But what is even more deplorable is the fact that this state of affairs exists because you, the “news media” – who, by virtue of your occupational responsibilities, have a duty to inform – have consistently refused to bring this situation to the attention of your audiences.

In addition to the aforementioned, there is the added nerve-jangling caused by your habit of replacing actual news with political opinion – opinion proffered by people who blatantly lie, mis-state the facts, mis-quote the Democratic contenders, repeat political myths that have been debunked time and again, and yet go unchallenged by you, the very people whose job it is question the veracity of such statements.

Add to the mix the fact that the “news” is no longer disseminated by impartial journalists, but has become just another “product” to be sold to the public-at-large by the corporations who own the print and TV news media, and have an agenda of their own – such as government contracts that could disappear if telling the truth means stepping on the wrong political toes.

If we Democrats appear to be “nervous”, it is not because we don’t believe wholeheartedly in our candidates’ superior abilities to not only lead a nation, but to garner the votes necessary to put them in a position to do so.

What we do fear is a citizenry that, thanks to your lack of responsible reporting, will not only go to the polls totally misinformed about the issues of the day and the positions of the candidates, but a populace that will base their votes on the misrepresentations, the unsubstantiated rumors, and outright distortions of the truth that you have encouraged your viewers and readers to accept as fact.

Are we nervous? At times, yes, we are. We get nervous when we contemplate the possibility of another administration that will defy the rule of law, while you sit silent; another disastrous war that you will cheerlead rather than question; another four years of a government that will operate behind closed doors to the nation’s detriment, while you fill your columns and your airtime with the inconsequential nonsense that has turned the once-honorable title of journalist into an epithet to be hurled at the lazy hack, the sell-out, the Judas Goat.

But again, let me set the record straight. While we Democrats may appear to be nervous, we are not discouraged, nor beaten, nor lacking in determination. We will see Barack Obama sworn-in as the next President. We will see this country handed back to its rightful owners – we, The People. We will achieve all that we have set out to do, and we will ultimately prevail.

But the fact remains: it is a national shame that when we look back on this victory years from now, we will inevitably remark that we accomplished our goal not due to the professional reporters in our news media, but in spite of them.