Being a Good Consumer of Media and Candidate Rhetoric

1. Being a Good Consumer of Media and Candidate Rhetoric • Beware of any sources that always give you information that supports your beliefs/ideology • Beware of a source that sees every event that happens as confirmation of its viewpoint • Beware of any source which blames one political party for everything bad that has ever happened

2. When something happens in the world, be wary of anyone who instantly blames it on the policies of their political opponent. • Good example: the rise of ISIS. • Democrats say ISIS gained ground because GW Bush invaded Iraq and let it slide into crisis. • Republicans say ISIS gained ground because Obama withdrew from Iraq. • Is it possible that ISIS became powerful because the Shi’a-dominated Iraqi government alienated Sunni Muslims and the Syrian civil war gave radical groups a sanctuary from which to build their numbers and gain experience in battle? • Nope. It must be something a US politician did.

3. And if Democrats believe that all bad things in the world are caused by Republicans and Republicans believe that all bad things are caused by Democrats, do we have any hope of: • Actually understanding cause and effect in the world? • Identifying the political, economic, and sociological reasons that things happen ? • Developing solutions to the complex problems we face? • Again, nope.

4. Beware of any source that can’t find a single positive thing to say about one of the political parties or opposition candidate • Remember that all news sources are selling you something. Discovering what they are selling is crucial. • Are they selling you a political point of view? • Are they selling you controversy? • Are they selling you accuracy, a trusted reputation?

5. Beware of labels and “isms” • Since politician X believes in this idea, he/she is therefore a believer in socialism, fascism, communism… • Beware of analysis that depends on innuendo, coincidence, and grand inferences. • “Since politician X says this, obviously he believes in that” • “Since politician X was seen with person Y, he/she is therefore supportive of and a believer in everything Y believes.”

6. Remember that no one can be an expert on every issue • Pay attention to the “experts” that are interviewed on a news source. What are their affiliations? • Beware of anyone who never says: “I don’t know” • Remember that current media requires people to make definitive judgments on complex issues immediately after they happen. That’s really not possible • Remember that the word pundit (which comes from the Sanskrit “pandita” and means essentially “learned one”) should be translated as “propagandist” today

7. Remember that the main purpose of political campaigning and communication is to define the opponent in a negative way. This is done through several strategies • Prosecutorial: Creating a narrative that makes the target look guilty of something. • Reasonable Doubt: Raising doubts about the target by accusing them of something for which you have no evidence, but it raises questions, forces the media to ask whether someone is guilty, and requires the target to defend themselves. Now discussion of the candidate always includes the charges. • Advertising: Candidates, important legislation, and ideas are being sold like commercial products. My product will enable you to eat ice cream all day and still lose weight. You don’t believe that, so why would you believe that we can cut taxes, increase spending, and balance the budget! • Fear: You should be afraid. You’re in danger! All these problems are caused by my opponent. He’s destroying America. Only I can save the nation.

8. Remember that anyone who says something like: “This raises questions…” has just accused someone of something for which they have absolutely no evidence. The target has just been accused of being suspicious. It’s called McCarthyism. It’s bad. • When someone begins a sentence with the phrase “The fact is…” they are about to give you their opinion, talking points, propaganda. • Ask this questions when you hear someone analyze an event/issue: Are his/her beliefs defining what is considered evidence and the historical record? Or is evidence based on data and the historical record defining what he/she believes?

9. The Internet • Make sure you know who is posting the information you are reading. Many organizations have biases, but they won’t necessarily advertise them. • Remember that most internet sources do not have editors and fact checkers. • Remember that the rule for the internet is generally this: report all rumor and report it as quickly as possible. If it turns out to be wrong, who cares, as long as someone has read it and your click/visitor counter is tallying large numbers.

10. When you hear the argument that the media is liberal, remember a few examples • Every President, Democratic or Republican feels the media is persecuting him (eventually her). • The New York Times broke the Whitewater story that eventually led to Bill Clinton’s impeachment while in office. • The New York Times also has been the leading edge of the reporting that has targeted New York Democratic Governors Elliot Spitzer (forced to resign) and Andrew Cuomo. • The US media was rooting for Republican John McCain in 2000. Not because of his political beliefs, but because he was a good story and he gave reporters access

11. Good News Organizations Make Mistakes I • News organizations get things wrong from time to time. That doesn’t mean bias. That means that journalists are human. The difference between real news and “fake” news is simple. Fake news is propaganda designed to push a political agenda by making you believe something that is false.  Real news is an attempt to get to the truth. • Sometimes that doesn’t always happen. Journalists can use a bad source or forget what they learned in journalism school because they are so excited to get a scoop. Good journalists can make honest mistakes and there are bad journalists who may make bad mistakes.

12. Good News Organizations Make Mistakes II • The difference is this: • when a good newspaper or website gets it wrong, they fix the mistake and they often fire or demote the reporter.  They also have multiple reporters working on any sensitive story because they want to make sure the have a lot of eyes on the subject.  • Bad newspapers or websites tell a story and when someone proves that it is wrong, they don’t care. They continue to push the story because they aren’t interested in getting it right; they are interested in selling the story to achieve a political goal.  That’s not news anymore; it is propaganda.

13. Remember the words of Daniel Patrick Moynihan. “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, not his own facts.” • When everyone else thinks you are wrong and you begin to believe that you are the only sane person left on the planet, remember the warning of H.L. Mencken about “the fundamental assumption that a group of idiots, if only its numbers be large enough , is wiser and more virtuous than any conceivable individual who is not an idiot.” • Beware any candidate or politician whose speeches sound like they will end with calls for everyone to grab their pitchforks and torches and storm the castle.

14. Be wary of any pundits or candidates who tell you about the awful things “this President” has done. If they don’t compare “this president’s” actions to past presidents, you are likely being given propaganda, not analysis. • Good example: Obama has signed 206 executive orders while in office (to June 2015). This sounds like a lot of executive orders and people are arguing he’s bypassed Congress. But when compared to other presidents, Obama has signed the fewest number of executive orders per year since Grover Cleveland’s first term (1893-1897). The use of executive orders to bypass congress is a serious constitutional issue, but Obama is no different from other presidents. It’s systemic problem, not something caused by Obama (or GW Bush).

15. Another example: After 9/11 George W. Bush increased presidential power significantly, sometimes through legislation, sometimes through executive order, sometimes through signing statements which reinterpreted legislation so deeply that it completely undermined the purpose of the legislation. Analysis, rather than propaganda, would have pointed out that this same presidential power grab has occurred every time the US has faced a serious and sudden national security threat. Lincoln and FDR both did similar things. That doesn’t make it right. It is arguably a huge problem, but the point is that this is what presidents typically do; it’s not an example of the evil of GW Bush. He’d probably like the comparisons to Lincoln and FDR.

16. Be careful of any pundit or candidate whose appeal to you is based on fear. • Remember the great quote from Frank Herbert’s book God Emperor of Dune: “The underserving maintain power by promoting hysteria.”