Monday, May 02, 2011

'Birtherism' and the US 'News' Media

By Danny Schechter
May 2, 2011

In the aftermath of the resolution of the Great Birther bash-up, even as President Obama tried to lay the issue to rest by producing the document that showed, proved, verified, documented, and validated his birth in one of the great states of our disunion, it was said that its release would only fuel more debate and convince no one.

Read on.

4 comments:

rosemerry said...

When your president claims Jesus Christ as his personal saviour, when 75% of US Senators support AIPAC-written motions in the interest of a foreign government, when most of the new Congress do not even believe global warming is real, since the corporation media have been fed anti-climate change propaganda funded by oil companies for decades, when Mike Huckabee, a potential presidential candidate, makes his fifteenth visit to Israel (has he visited any other country?), what can you hope for in the way of understanding of Mercan or world problems?

ChMoore said...

Another way of looking at this, is that actual facts matter less than what a person believes as fact, based on what they consider a credible source.

The socialization mentioned has a lot to do with this as well.

I always thought it was interesting that so many considered conspiracy theorists more credible as a source, than the certified issueing authority of Hawaii's health dept records.

It seems that for some, social-based pre-emptive dislike for Obama 'trumped' the credibility of official state certified records; while such records are perfectly legitimate for most others.

Marilyn A. Frith said...

hmmm...Schechter approaches the contentious 'birther bash-up' from a pseudo-scientific vantage. Does that put the issue in its silly place? Dismissing verified facts as airy conspiracy tacks is disingenuous and does not advance either truth nor civil debate. Nice try, though. Personal biases can be skillfully disguised behind waves of well-crafted phrases. I recall reading how ministers of the cloth routinely instructed slaves during those times to obey masters; it was God's will that the slave remain passive, compliant, dutiful. It was also an affront to moral imperatives and logic. Servitude by any name is still servitude. To be chided into self-censorship is a form of intellectual bondage. The truth hurts but lies kill...more lies don't make spurious propaganda true.

JF ROTE said...

Danny...There are only two ways one arrives at belief. First, by conditioning with rewards and punishment...go to church and mouth the dogma or go to hell...accept the political orthodoxy of your peers (or your employer), or be ostracized (or fired).
Secondly, through experience from which we learn the true nature of things. My father was fond of telling me (after I screwed up), that once you reach eighteen years, and are not suffering brain damage, you already know right from wrong...even if you were raised by wolves.
Good piece!
Peace