Politics and the Media

Now I know that in the world with the Internet, mentioning politics is like having a dirty bomb on the lawn of the White House, nothing good will come out of it. I also know that most people that read this post after seeing the title will think I'm about to go pro-liberal, conservative, democrat, republican, or whatever, but the fact is I'm tired of all sides. The media is also on my list because of how close politics and the media tends to be. Also for the fact that I want to shed light on something rather important, and that is how most issues that people become passionate about issues is due to the attention the media gives it and people are simply unaware of this.

Now, the reason I am tired of all sides in politics is due to the fact that both sides are exactly the same. I know this sounds like blasphemy to people on either side because "I can't be like them!" and that kind of helps in proving my point. Both sides are so bent on being so different, if not the exact opposite, that all they ended up doing is having the exact same stories, just conveniently switching some of the dialogue or circumstances so it fits with their agenda. The biggest way I've seen this is when you ask them why things are in the current state they're in. Their explanations will nearly be identical except for who the ultimate person responsible for the situation is. For two sides claiming to be intellectual, they sure aren't living up to that moniker.

The true irony from the division comes from what George Washington said after his 2 terms as President ended. He warned against political parties because they would divide the nation. He looks like a prophet cause American History is full of division due to political parties, and it only worsens today now that people have flocked to the Internet as a new means of pushing their ideals down other people's throat. (Both sides are guilty of this) Political parties, to be fair, are necessary because the people running for election have to have a backing of some kind, but my focus is how divided it makes everyone as compared to what the parties should be doing; working together towards the same goal.

Now I mention the media because they will turn a story that is no big deal into the biggest thing to happen since Jesus Christ came down to Earth. I do put a big amount of blame on the media itself because they are the ones that make the stories, but I believe the majority of the blame goes upon the people because if they didn't tune in, the ratings would go down, and the media would move onto something else. I say media instead of the news because the Internet does fall under the umbrella term of media and the Internet is just as, if not more, guilty than any news outlet. The biggest, and most recent example, is the whole Chick-fil-a fiasco. The CEO of the company gets asked a simple question, gives a simple answer, and now he is being accused of hate crimes like this is the second coming of Westboro Baptist Church.

Now I don't know how people have been raised, I can only truly vouch for myself, but growing up I was taught that you don't assume things about people. There are 2 simple reasons for this: 1. You wouldn't want the same thing being done to you, 2. You end up turning someone into something they aren't. The sad thing is that is exactly what people have done to not just the CEO, but to everyone that works at Chick-fil-a period. Simple employees have been labeled bigots, homophobes, and other far meaner things depending on their gender. As much as I roll my eyes at this entire situation, it also bugs me that we care more about someone's opinion than about a bad economy or people suffering. What also bugs me is that the same people who are trying to go full riot on the entire company would of been throwing the CEO a parade had he said he agreed with gay marriage.

Sorry, that was a bit of a tangent, but I point those things out because the media, including the Internet, began to assume things about the CEO and his company from his one answer. Before you could really have a chance to know what happened, there were protestors, supporters, YouTube videos, posts on Facebook, pages across all other websites, and just an all around explosion over something that should not of been THIS big of a deal. Now perhaps it could of caused some backlash because that happens whenever you stand by your beliefs, but what is happening here is just ridiculous. This isn't the first time that the media has elevated something far beyond what it should of been. What I'm wanting people to do is to become educated on what exactly is the big deal. Some situations are so big of a deal that educated won't calm things down, but it will hopefully cause people to be more thoughtful with what they say in response. An example is that instead of automatically labeling someone a bigot, see what their true beliefs are. Also, ask yourself this one question; is my going around and name calling and judging not the EXACT same thing I'm accusing the other side of? Does perhaps tolerance mean that I have to be ok with people who don't think the same way I do? (I sure hope the answer to that question is obvious)

So in summary, educate yourself over a situation before getting sucked in the latest bandwagon issue. I won't lie, an issue may be a big deal, but a person should decide that for themselves before going around mudslinging and bashing with secondhand knowledge.