Culture Wars and Shifting Templates

We’ve reached the end of the 2 + years long ‘Russia Collusion’ investigation. With zero evidence of collusion found by a massive heavily Democrat-leaning team of investigators, cheered on by the mainstream media in their hopes of removing President Trump from office, the question of media malpractice and accountability has been raised. The mainstream media bought into the ‘collusion delusion’ and promoted it heavily during this period of investigation. Millions of Americans believed President Trump would soon be removed from office, either by resignation or be impeached. Since the ‘Russia Collusion’ narrative has finally fizzled after the conclusion of the Mueller investigation, the media and Congress have turned their guns on the president’s tax returns in the hopes of finding something to smear, discredit and humiliate him with in order to neutralize him or put him in a weak position for re-election. A massive case of media malpractice has taken place during this period. What can be done to hold them accountable? The First Amendment guarantees the right of a free press but why has it become so dishonest and agenda driven? There are two factors that drive American society: entertainment and screens. With the advent of TVs in our homes, office, hospitals, doctor’s offices, school and even auto repair and servicing, we are subjected to a constant array of entertainment 24 hours a day. If the news cycle isn’t playing, daytime talk shows such as Ellen (or Oprah and Phil Donahue in the not-too-distant past) serve up trivial entertainment, focus on celebrities, and discussions about current cultural and occasionally, news events. It is a constant supply of distraction for us from the more serious vagaries of our very brief life here on earth. But now we all have screens we can carry on our hands to further complicate this. With the advent of social media we have the ability to stay in touch with our friends and loved ones and see what is going on in their lives 24 hours a day and to view more happenings around the globe. Recent studies have shown that our brain chemistry supplies us with hits from our ‘inner pharmacy’ when we look at these screens and the tendency to stay connected is even further complicated with our cellphones and tablets. We are media-driven and entertainment driven and serious thought is avoided and distractions abound everywhere. Collectively we have become a nation that is getting shallower and shallower and serious thought and critical thinking seem almost non-existent. The fact that a story invented largely by Hillary Clinton’s campaign advisors, Robbie Mook and John Podesta, to explain her improbable and all but impossible loss, grew legs and possessed the airwaves and screens for 2 ½ years can only be explained by several of these factors. People were emotionally intoxicated by the story of Russian collusion. It was offered as an explanation for the upset of the century by a candidate who ran a better campaign against another candidate who felt they were entitled to the win, and who refused to accept the outcome of the election. But back to the press. What can be done to correct the ideologically driven nature of this beast? They are guaranteed their First Amendment rights and Our Founders saw fit to ensure the press would not be under government control. But what holds them accountable and what is the corrective when they are so wrong and practice journalistic malfeasance? The market has some impact as we see ever declining shares by the nightly MSM viewers. Some media institutions that have been around for decades or more are struggling to survive and many citizens now get their news online or from a multiplicity of resources. However, we now have a situation where the media deliberately cooperated in the effort to remove a duly elected president from office and mislead millions into not only thinking it was likely that he colluded with the Russians, but that his removal from office was all but a done deal. Where is the corrective to this irresponsible reporting and opining? Sadly, there is little except a handful of conservative journalists and opinion-makers who have managed to hang onto a small percentage of the social media and news markets. Twitter and other platforms have been useful in offering alternative voices and views, but often the opposing viewpoints are partisan and shrill, and the truth gets lost between the two adversarial sides. Add to this the recent trend by tech giants such as FB, Twitter and You Tube, to de-platform conservative voices. We are in a giant cultural war and standards and bars are continuing to erode. The social justice warriors (SJWs) are even trying to get MasterCard to remove accounts from conservative voices. It’s a dire situation but there appears to be a large ground swell of ‘woke’ people to what is going, and who believe in free speech. Despite their best efforts, the cultural Left seems to be losing ground. Abortion bans are becoming the norm across many states and eventually it seems all but inevitable that the supreme Court will have to revisit Roe V Wade or the entire issue. Some are saying the legislation hurts the cause more than helps it, but this writer thinks only time will tell. We are at a critical juncture and the Left seems willing to do anything to regain power as they see their gains under the Obama Administration slip away. A Hillary presidency would all but have consolidated their power and cultural views for a generation or more. Despite President Trump’s many shortcomings, the trend has reversed. We see evidence of this in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals which is gaining more conservative justices, tipping the balance of power. The courts have been one branch of government that has attempted to stymy the president’s agenda but that is slowly changing. Another 4 years of President Trump could nearly put a nail in the coffin of the liberal effort to ‘change’ our country. But the culture continues to get shallower and shallower. The only movies that seem to have any kind of real traction in Hollywood are the superhero movies. But that appeals to a smaller and smaller segment of the population. Things are shifting in America. The digital revolution is here to stay and new voices are arising.