“Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed.” This sounds good, especially if one doesn’t think about it very hard or very long, but the harder and longer one thinks about it, the more problematic it becomes.
Tag: media
Gratitude to Overcome Boredom, Difficulties, Complaining, & Feeling Overwhelmed
As many give thanks for what’s in their lives this week, we might look at how to go deeper with gratitude. “Gratitude” seems like a trite and even perhaps boring topic to many — we all know we should be grateful. And yet, there are ways that we aren’t cultivating gratitude … and our lives could be much easier, even richer, if we did use gratitude in these deeper ways. Let’s take a few examples.
Disobedience is a Virtue
When we spend most of our formative years being bombarded with the message—from parents, teachers, the media, agents of the state, etc.—that obedience is a virtue and disobedience is a sin, we “learn” that lie at a very deep psychological level, way beyond merely an intellectual understanding.
Are You Still Trusting Liars?
Cops lie. Court employees lie. Prosecutors lie. Crime labs lie. The mainstream media usually accepts these lies without question and passes them along, in the form of “press releases” or statements by those government employees, to a gullible public.
As They Perpetuate Their Endless Crimes
Many Americans become enraged in response to reports of personal misbehavior by politicians (of the other party), especially sexual misbehavior. The news media cover the matter 24/7. Allegations are periodically resurrected decades after the public has lost interest. Meanwhile…
Assertions versus Facts
CNN can show us an apple, but it can’t show us Russian election meddling or global warming or people being made safe by gun control. Unlike apples, these are complex things not amenable to depiction.
The News
Objectivity would require looking at the broader environment in which broadcast news competes for public attention. The news isn’t fake; it’s just rarely whole and pure.
The Honest Ads Act: “Fundamental Rights,” Real and Imagined
Americans — and Russians — have a fundamental right to say what they want to say, with or without their names attached to it.
Why ‘Innocent Until Proven Guilty’ Matters More than Ever
What we are seeing today is the normalization of a disturbing trend which has been slowly growing over the last couple of decades: The wholesale destruction of lives and careers through rumors, speculation, and salacious gossip spread by a partisan, agenda-driven media machine.
Lessons of the South Asian Swastika
When he was living in Burma, graphic novelist Guy Delisle noticed quite a few swastikas. Indeed, much of south Asia is full of swastikas. It’s not because they’re Nazi sympathizers. The swastika was a south Asian symbol until the Nazis ripped them off. Now imagine you’re visiting south Asia and see a group of natives strolling around in swastikas. How should you react – and what should you do? There are two main routes.