Why Must Everything Be Political?

I have come to the conclusion that if the virus doesn't make you sick, the national media's coverage of the pandemic will.   I doubt we'll ever get back the faith in our "free" press that our founder hoped for and had in mind as a fair watchdog on government and society.

One media observer whose thoughts we often enjoy and share is Tim Bryce.

Tim Bryce is an author, freelance writer and the Managing Director of M&JB Investment Company (M&JB) of Palm Harbor, Florida and has over 40 years of experience in the management consulting field.  He is also an occasional correspondent for KIT and we are happy to share many of his columns when he is talking politics.   Sadly it seems like EVERYTHING is political, even the Coronavirus.

Here's a little bit of his latest blog, "Following Pearl Harbor, Katrina, and 9-11, the country unified to combat the peril, but this is hardly the case today. Even though polls suggest the country approves the efforts exerted by President Trump and his team, there are forces at work to undermine him.....To combat President Trump’s exposure, the news media has openly criticized his daily briefings claiming they are either distributing misleading information or he is openly lying. Then again, they have been saying this ever since his inauguration."

Tim, like many in the KIT audience, is old enough to remember a kinder and gentler America where differences weren't as important as our shared values. An America where journalists didn't take sides and skew coverage based on their personal "feelings" about the subject of their reports.

Thomas Jefferson is quoted as saying, "Where the press is free and every man able to read, all is safe."    All is safe.  But what if the press isn't free?  What If the press is driven by a particular ideology?  What if pursuit of a directed outcome clips off the wings of freedom?  Then the pres isn't free and the nation isn't safe?

Bryce continues, "In sharp contrast, Democrat governors who hold similar briefings in their own states, are openly applauded; this includes New York, Michigan, Illinois, Washington, and California. So far, I have yet to see the press take the Democrats to task. Obviously, this is not a coincidence....I never suspected someone would take a calamity like the coronavirus, and spin it for political gain". 

But of course they have.