Thursday, May 04, 2006

TO: Conservatives LOVE: Scott

Note: My intention is not to propogate partisan squabbling; there's plenty of that to go around without my help. Officially, I don't support bi-partisan politics, rather advocate for the establishment of a multi-party system with equal representation based on a percentage of the vote.


Anyway, Here we go an open letter to conservatives...


The great battle of liberals and conservatives continues, and once again thanks to the tired old rhetoric of Republican absolutism conservatives have come out strong! You should thank your lucky stars that the conservative media have given you such a well-rounded view of the "truth". Why do you think that George Bush and the rest of the Republicans in power don't want you to listen to the "liberal media"? If they are so right, what do they have to be afraid of? Why prevent people from seeking knowledge? After all, as citizens we have an obligation to be informed, since we are called upon to vote in an informed manner.


But, shouldn't media be "liberal"? News organizations have an obligation to question everything that the government does. Isn't that what they call journalistic integrity? Why is our news censored? Our Constitution was based on the fact that government should be doubted, and authority questioned. Did you know that "news" from the White House is filtered through a press liason? We're only hearing what the government wants us to hear. Anything else would be a compromise of National Security, right? You know who else tried to prevent the media from being too doubting and "liberal"? Hitler. He didn't like the information that was available in the dirty, liberal world of literature, so he had everything that he didn't agree with burned. Thankfully we have laws to prevent the neo-conservatives from hiding the truth and preventing the American people from getting their information from wherever they choose.


Here's another thing: I am sick of hearing people say, "I'm informed... I stay current with politics." Bullshit. They watch the evening news, and think that whatever rhetoric George W. decided to shovel-out to the press corps is news. That's not being "informed"-- that's called buying into the political bullshit. It seems to me that conservatives think if they sound threatening enough, and make liberals seem ridiculous , people will believe what they have to say. But, I don't buy into that. Why not? The answer is simple: I check my facts. When you hear something on the news, you should ask yourself what the underlying reasons for the statement are, and consider any biases the reporter or politician might have. I'm going to come out and say it right now: I am not always right. Even though I check my facts before I say something, I am not going to have 100ccuracy, and you can call me on that. I'm not going to get pissed off, and get one of my friends to write a threatening message to you. I would never threaten someone with violence because of their political views-- I prefer civilized discussions.


So, do me a favor. If you're just going to spout off on the internet about something that you don't have a clue about, please do the rest of the world a favor by prefacing your statements with, "I don't really know the facts, but." Or, "I don't have any information to corroborate my claims but I'll say this anyway". Maybe just say, "In my un-informed opinion:" Just let people know where you are coming from. I'll respect you a lot more for that.


In case you are having trouble finding facts , here is a list of reputable news organizations, liberal and conservative in case you are having trouble finding information:


http://www.watchingamerica.com/--Watching America is a compilation of what worldwide news organizations have to say about the United States. Watching America has no political affiliations like other news organizations and simply reposts other news sources.


http://www.associatedpress.com/



http://www.reuters.com/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/

http://www.cnn.com/

http://www.iht.com/ (International Herald Tribune)


Now, do your part. If you think I'm totally off-base here, go ahead and say it: you can post below... I'm not going to bar you from opposing my viewpoint.


And remember: I'm not a barn... whatever that means.


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