When I was in school I heard tales of a free press whose sole purpose was to keep society aware and informed. My teachers consistently inundated my classmates and I with tales of journalists remaining objective while serving the people, not the organization they work for.
As an information junkie, these words sounded as sweet as Lonnie Liston Smith with a spliff in a Garden Of Peace. During those days, the news helped me attain peace of mind. Then I realized that they just wanted a piece of mine — my money, my thoughts, my voice and my illusion of choice.
Whoever said ignorance is bliss was more prophetic than a room with Jesus, Moses, Buddha and Mohammed paying homage to the creator of them all. That doesn’t mean that we should be sheltered from the truth, but believe you me: we are being lied to more than the girl whose boy friend says:
“I don’t care who your cousin said she saw me with or what that guy who looks like me is doing in that picture. Baby, I don’t even know her.”
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying every journalist, news correspondent and reporter has secretly congregated and planned to use the news to control America. I highly doubt Barbara Walters was with Dan Rather and asked him, “What are we doing tonight Dan? The same thing we do every night, Barbara, try to take over the world.”
That sounds as ridiculous as the idea that Bane in the new Batman movie represents Romney at Bain Capital.
That would be laughable – if people didn’t believe it. Reporting has been replaced with pandering on both the left and right wing. Rather than state all of the facts, pundits on both sides of the political spectrum present their opinions on issues and political leaders.
The majority of opinions being presented belong to the owners of the news stations. The number of corporations that control media outlets dropped from 50 in 1983 to six corporations controlling 90 percent of the media today.
Those corporations are Time Warner, Disney, Murdoch’s News Corporation, Bertelsmann of Germany, Viacom and NBC. Their goal is not to inform you. Their goal is to push their political agenda and create the most profitable organization possible.
This leads to pandering sensational propaganda taking precedence over reporting facts to the general public. We are partly to blame for the flaws in the system.
We have strength in numbers. These major news organizations can only operate if they make money derived from advertising. They are only able to do so if people tune in to what they deliver. It’s a business and they have no option but to do so, but we have the power not to tune in and educate those who are ignorant of the true nature of media.
I’m not mad at Bill O’Reilly. What he does is dangerous and immoral, but his hazardous views coincide with the millions of Americans who tune into his propaganda machine. Bill only has one vote, but those who tune in have millions. The question is not, how do we change Bill, but what can we do to enlighten those who he influences?
The idea that the media controls our thoughts and votes is an illusion. Yes, the system is a flawed one, but just because someone has the title CEO does not mean they are in control of the business. They survive off our capital, which we control, so they have to do what we say. I say it’s time we hold media organizations responsible for delivering truth.
As of right now, I am a part of the same system. Well, I am just an intern who is trying to change the system internally. In turn, I hope those of you who resonate with the message continue to speak out and throw gas on those who try to ensnare you with their lies and half-truths.
Then all we will need is a spark of genius from one of us who are fed up with being forced to drink the Kool-Aid. Those of us who want to eat from the same tree Adam and Eve were able to gain their nutrition.
The system of disinformation needs to change. Every lie adds gasoline to the fire burning in my gut. I have the Devil in my stomach, but God is in my soul. Until the day the sun rises on a system of media that promulgates truth over popular opinions, and justice over sensationalism, that fire will continue to burn. That’s the reason why…
Garvey Ashhurst is a young up and coming poet, songwriter, and blogger. He is the reason that the system is afraid of a black man in a library. His aim is not to be Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, or Ghandi, but he hopes to make them proud by keeping their ideals alive through his lifestyle. He hopes that one day young brothers will one day say I want to be the next him.
