Monday, October 31, 2011

I dunno who to believe...

I was reading this Robert Alter Article that really got me thinking.  It's talking about how there's been no real scandal from the Obama Administration in a record 3 years.  Now it can't be because it's completely pristine because no one can be that clean.  Alter goes through a lot of reasons, but one really strikes me: People react and believe news sources that seem to be disinterested participantsMeaning, that if you are perceived as objective, if you say something is wrong with a government official or anyone, you will generally be believed over someone who has a perceived agenda.

As usual, reading the comments at the end of the article are classic.  They're spouting all sorts of things the Obama administration has done that should have him impeached.  However, my point is not that Obama's government has been squeaky clean.  My point is that, the people who always bring up the problems are FOX news.  I'm sure that just because they have a point of view that I don't always agree with, doesn't mean that they are not good and thoughtful journalists.  Or, that their stories don't have some merit.  But when they break a story, I just have difficulty taking it seriously because I have no idea just how much is about getting to the truth of the story and how much is them presenting their subjective views on how much they hate/love whatever government party is in power at the moment.  I have this problem with MSNBC as well.

In a song that I've been writing and recording, I'm working with that issue.  Because….what can you really believe?!  Who do you trust to tell you what's actually happening?! These people talk like they know, but it's from their perspective not just the facts.  Though humans are all subjective creatures, at least journalists should TRY to put their beliefs aside and tell the story. Right now, I don't' know who to believe.

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