War of Words
Tonight on AC360, Jim Greer was the guest along with CNN political analyst Roland Martin. Mr. Greer is a member of the Republican Party in Florida. Supposedly President Obama is to speak to students in Florida this week or next on the issue of education. (I could be wrong about this, I don’t remember exactly where he will be speaking, I just know it is to students). Mr. Greer, in the interview with Anderson, states that President Obama will make “political” remarks that shouldn’t be appropriate for school-aged children, discussing policy initiatives such as healthcare and the economy. The problem? Mr. Greer hasn’t seen the speech. This. This is what is tearing this country apart. Politicians have become masters of the art of word twisting, saying things the right way to get people to agree with them and hate the other side. Or, in Mr. Greer’s case: making assumptions or predictions based off non-existent evidence. Ultimately this is harming our country. I think this is when our press, the media should step in. But unfortunately, it seems it’s come to personality-driven pundit shows that rate as top sellers. It seems accountability is just a foreign concept almost. What happened? Why has accountability been almost completely erased form the American political system? This is something that will come back to haunt us, and it is something that is essential to this democracy. If the press won’t hold politicians accountable, if politicians won’t do it for themselves. Who do we look to, then? The answer is ourselves. We as citizens have to start taking an active role in making sure the information we receive is true and balanced. But how might one go about doing this? First, we need to be educated. Not just about WHO political players may be, but the system in which they are involved with. Politics in America is like a machine. There are many parts and aspects to it that work behind the scenes to project the image that we all see of politics and the players. The carefully crafted speeches, how an argument is made, even the way one looks. All of this is thought about. Politics is theatre. You would be very naive to think otherwise. And that’s why America relied on the press and our journalists: to tear down the theatricality of politics and show citizens what is really going on so that we may make an informed decision that will be vital to the progress of this country. Unfortunately, it seems like the press has deviated from this all important role.
