One Response to “Become A Journalist”

• Alex Goss

  November 10, 2010 at 9:20 pm

  Winston Churchill said, as I recall, “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.” That may be so, but I think democracy has a lot of shortcomings, some of which I would like to identify here:

  The Electorate

  Back in 1800 and before, the electorate here and in Great Britain consisted of an elite group of free male landowners, who could differ vociferously about many issues, but who at least accurately understood what those issues were. As suffrage was extended to the rest of the population, and at the same time the issues became increasingly complex, the comprehension gap steadily increased. Today, as an example, the Tea Party movement demonstrates how far our citizens are from understanding what’s going on. They can be rallied to march against a supposed Democratic plan to achieve ‘Nazi Communism’ without really understanding either of those contradictory terms, or how the actions of the Obama administration in any way fit either description.

  Technology

  As this country extended itself across the continent, the electorate necessarily became dependent on the public media as their primary means of understanding events and issues. In Britain, it has been understood for many years that certain publications will provide the slant that you prefer – The Telegraph for Tories, The Guardian for Labourites, and so on. The BBC, on the other hand, appears to maintain a relatively unbiased view. Until recently, the American media, for the most part, also strove for objectivity. With the acquisition of Fox News by Rupert Murdoch, this position has changed. While making the preposterous claim to be ‘Fair and Balanced’, Fox presents increasingly outrageous propaganda for the moronic conservatives who consume it.

  But a brand-new development last week has made me even more cynical about the democratic form of government. A right-wing radio commentator actually succeeded in forcing the resignation of an administration employee by selectively editing a recorded speech to reverse its meaning, creating the impression for listeners that the woman was biased against whites.

  As the tools to edit both audio and video data improve, it seems to me that it should become possible to create entire speeches by political figures out of whole cloth. We might expect to see on Fox News, for example, a face, apparently that of Barack Obama in his popular Joker makeup, praising Nazi Communism and explaining his plans to create death camps for Republicans. How can the average citizen possibly separate fact from fiction?

  The Solution

  If democracy is so fragile, you will now be saying, was Churchill wrong? Is there, in fact, a better form of government?

  It’s possible. I believe there is much to be said for the time-honored system of benevolent dictatorship. As you are all aware, I am the most modest of men; far be it from me to put myself forward as a candidate for any kind of election. If I should be drafted by public acclaim, however, I promise to be as benevolent a dictator as anyone could want. (Except, of course, for those benighted individuals who oppose me. For them, a few well-designed death camps might really be the thing.)