I Don't Care About Fox News

I'm serious, I don't.

I'm no longer bothered by the biases, the bullshit, not even Bill O'Reilly.

You know why? Because Fox News shouldn't exist. It does, but it shouldn't. Like a fairy-tale demon, it exists because people believe in it.

"At the risk of sounding unpopular, I'm putting the blame for this squarely on you, the viewers!"
~Kent Brockman~

I, my friends, my family, knew that the case for war in Iraq was total crap. We know about McCain's insane pastors. How could we possibly know this?

Too much blame gets put on the media for not reporting things that they ought. It doesn't matter, because certain news organizations and blogs--mainstream ones, not outlying conspiracy nuts--do report things. The New York Times reported on the use of military experts to spread disinformation, and Daily Kos complains, rightly, that most news organizations, notably Fox News, have ignored the story. Another diarist tells us about the deaths of four soldiers in Iraq, a story that CNN hasn't mentioned. But he's telling us. The information is out there.

What's the problem, then? Why does Fox News still exist?

Because some people--maybe even most people--are really, really stupid. Not to mention gullible.

What's sicker than Bill O'Reilly?

The fact that people watch his show, and not ironically.

Democracy is about respecting the will of the majority of the people. If the majority of the people want to believe, slack-jawed and unquestioned, what Fox News wants to tell them, then fine. It's not really fair that they're dragging the rest of us down with them, but that's democracy. If people are honestly swayed by unfair media coverage that haloes McCain and pretends that the 'bitter' comments were relevant, if they really think that the savagery of a campaign indicates toughness and not blinding ambition, then they deserve the fruits of their votes.

I don't mean to indicate any specialness on my part, or on the parts of my friends. But I can watch Keith Olbermann and sift through the shameless Obama homer-ism* to the core of the stories. Some people can do this. Some people swallow everything they hear.

To quote Kent Brockman once again:

"I've said it before and I'll say it again. Democracy just doesn't work."


*Which, honestly, bothers me just about as much as blatant homering for Michigan football does. Tsk tsk, Keith Olbermann!