Fake News!

 

Exposing the gaslighting.

The First Amendment states that the government shall make no law abridging the freedom of the press. It confers to the press a function vital to the defense of democracy. Our founders knew full well that a free press is essential to inform the people and to hold the powerful accountable. President Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) also realized this and said, “Freedom of the press is essential to the preservation of a democracy; but there is a difference between freedom and license. Editorialists who tell downright lies in order to advance their own agendas do more to discredit the press than all the censors in the world.” It is no longer just editorialists that take license with their reporting. Much of the mainstream media, and much of social media, have abandoned any obligation to champion the truth, instead choose to propagandize a leftist narrative. They engage in gaslighting the public with lies and innuendo to bolster their chosen narrative. In other words, they “report” only what they want you to hear and believe.

We need to trust what is reported from mainstream news sources. They have a responsibility to approach news reporting as would a fiduciary that puts the client’s interests first. Media has swung so far to the left that is almost comical when each network appears to be reading from the same script. Journalism requires impartiality and objectivity. Personal or political bias cannot influence reporting, either by omission or commission. Once journalism is unduly predisposed to create a narrative to further a personal or political end, all credibility is lost. Fake News is a reality and the lies they advance has indelibly damaged their integrity. Legacy media has lost any trust they may have had with the people they are charged to serve.

The incessant and deliberate negative reporting regarding President-elect Trump should have any semi-intelligent person questioning the veracity and sanity of those news outlets. Continual downplaying or ignoring any democrat misdeed or ethical issue is so readily apparent for those not afflicted with blind partisan ideology. The cover-up of Joe Biden’s mental decline has been borderline criminal. Boosting Kamala Harris as presumptive democrat Presidential nominee only weeks after questioning her ability to remain on the Biden/Harris ticket was staggeringly outrageous. Yet over 70 million fell for the lies and voted for her. “Truth is relative. Truth is what you can make the voter believe is the truth. If you're smart enough, truth is what you make the voter think it is. That's why I'm a Democrat. I can make the Democratic voters think whatever I want them to.” James Carville-democrat strategist. Softball interview after softball interview only revealed Harris’ utter lack of ability to articulate any policy initiative that would benefit the nation. Thankfully, a majority of voters recognized this, and Harris will fade into ignominy after January 20^th.

The First Amendment allows news organizations broad protections from retribution from the powerful when reporting the news. It also allows them to hide behind those protections. The Biden administration attempted to censor some of the major social media platforms by using a direct connection to the FBI. The FBI attempted to manipulate, what they deemed “misinformation” (anything conservative or Christian) by flagging those posts and requesting them to be removed. Most of those requests were complied with by the platforms. Additionally, a Ministry of Truth was actually in place before leaks about it caused its implementation to be “delayed”. Sound a bit like Nazi Germany? Sound like a direct affront to the First Amendment that charges the government to make no law abridging free speech? Sound like something out of George Orwell’s 1984 or Animal Farm?

Cronyism, subjectiveness, and deceitfulness currently are the calling cards of the legacy media. They loudly decry MAGA, Christianity, police, and traditional values. They support transgenderism, LGTBQ+, illegal immigration, and lawlessness. People are beginning to wake up and see that they are being used, and the people are rejecting the gaslighting. MSNBC will likely be reorganized or terminated after Comcast ended their relationship with that outlet. CNN is losing over 40% of its market share. CBS, ABC, and NBC are hemorrhaging viewers. The New York Times and Washington Post are losing $Millions. People are going elsewhere for their news, to outlets the legacy media decry as pushing misinformation. Well, maybe the alternate media is reporting what mainstream outlets should be reporting. If the legacy media fails to wake up, they will fail to survive. And that may not be a bad thing!

Speechless

 

The assault on free speech is real.

The First Amendment is enumerated in the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution. It is a guarantee for citizens to freely express their opinions and prohibits Congress from constraining or usurping the citizen’s free speech rights or the rights of the press to report to the people. Free speech includes that which the government may disagree. Mis or disinformation is free speech. The government can label it as such, but cannot censor it. The citizen has the absolute right to decide what information they choose to consume and what information that they choose to support and accept. These rights are under attack by the very government that the people have empowered to uphold. There is an organized effort to censor speech opposed by government institutions worldwide. Yet there are those who willingly support this perversion of liberty.

As we near the Presidential election, one must ask, is the freedom of expression necessary to preserve this nation? Is free speech the vehicle that enables the people access to and the ability to hold their government accountable? Is the free flow of competing ideas essential to the machinations of a free and open society? There is one party that champions the restriction of free speech. There is one party that believes that the people do not possess the intelligence necessary to determine what is true and what is not. There is one party that proposed a ministry of truth to effectively censor the free flow of information on the internet, particularly targeting social media. The democrat party believes that institutions, not individuals should determine what speech is not only allowable, but accessible. Yet, there are those that are comfortable ceding their rights to government control.

Technologically, our society has advanced so far in such a short time. Information is at our fingertips and news is accessible in real time. Government collusion with social media is diluting and/or eliminating opinions that are deemed unacceptable to be freely exposed to the masses. This enables government entities to control the narrative, a strategy employed by tyrannical governments worldwide to propagandize, hide the truth, and enable those governments to control their population. This insidious tactic, embraced by the Soviet Union, China, Iran, and North Korea, is being employed throughout the “free” world. In the European Union (EU) the CEO of the Telegram, Pavel Durov, has been arrested by France for enabling “bad actors” to utilize the social media platform to commit crimes. The Telegram employs an intermediary to cooperate with the EU to identify and remove bad actor’s access to the platform. This arrest not only violates Durov’s right to freedom of information, but is likely illegal.

In Brazil, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, tasked with fighting “fake news” by the leftist regime headed by Luis Inazio Lula da Silva, decided to ban the “X” social media platform from Brazil in an ongoing dispute with Elon Musk. Musk is refusing to comply with a court order that stated that the social media platform was a “threat to democracy.” Sound familiar? Moraes further ordered all assets to Starlink, a Musk owned satellite broadband firm, to be frozen, all internet providers to remove the “X” app, and will levy fines of $9,000 per day of any of the 50 million Brazilian users caught using a VPN to access “X.” Overstepping his authority perhaps?

Governments have a difficult time conducting illicit business if citizens can learn of those actions. If freedom of the press is curtailed or censored, the powerful cannot be held accountable. Information is power and to limit or eliminate dissent allows tyranny to reign without restraint. Knowledge alone does not prevent the repression of the populace. Those who choose to ignore the tyranny and fall prey to the blindness of political animosity are the willing pawns that facilitate out of control government. A polarized population that falls for the unhinged rantings of a political party that seeks unfettered power are the very tools necessary for evil to succeed. Hatred produces blindness that causes one to fail to recognize the true enemy. Hatred of our neighbors simply based upon party affiliation makes no sense. Hatred will cloud the judgement necessary to stand up for justice. Hatred will allow freedom to die.

Do not rejoice when people you disagree with are persecuted or silenced. Freedom dictates that all are treated fairly in accordance with the law. Speech in which you disagree, unless it is to foment violence or chaos, is permitted in a free society. If someone’s opinion offends you, you can ignore it and seek another platform. If you dislike a person, you have the freedom to associate with whoever you choose. There is always information and opinion that can fit your chosen narrative and beliefs. Give grace to those of differing opinions rather than looking to censor them. Once freedom of speech has ended and the government tells you what to believe, your life will be diminished. Be careful what you wish for, because one day the tables will turn, you will become that threat to democracy, and you will be the one silenced and persecuted. 

Enabled

 

Mainstream media promotes evil.

Most of the national media paints a narrative that favors democrats, liberalism, and some would argue, promotes leftist ideology. They denigrate all things Christian, conservative, and anything else they deem to be detrimental to their agenda. Cheerleading from “news” outlets MSNBC, CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC, New York Times, Washington Post, and others, has enabled evil to permeate our society and begin a path toward the fundamental transformation of this nation. If the mainstream media was fair and balanced, democrat policies would be exposed for the failures they truly are, and always have been. If the mainstream media was fair and balanced, a cognitively challenged Joe Biden would never have been elected President. If the mainstream media was fair and balanced, the vile rhetoric that led to the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, would not have happened.

The 1^st Amendment is an instrument that can cut both ways. Those who pervert that privilege and hide behind the veil of free speech, profess that which the evil one favors. Words do have consequences when lies are repeatedly reported as facts. Weak minded individuals can be unduly influenced when they believe the propaganda spewed by media figures and politicians. When leaders, elected to serve the public, denigrate their opponents with disgusting and deceitful accusations to gain political advantage, they fail themselves and the nation. When the media abandons their responsibility to objectively report facts and choose to be cheerleaders for one political party, they fail their oaths as journalists and their obligation to hold the powerful accountable.

Democrat policies support the mutilation of children, vilifies people based upon skin color, purposefully open our borders to register illegals to vote as homeless, tacitly support antisemitism, vigorously defend the murder of unborn children, advocate for males to share public facilities with women, illegally launder money through “smurfing” prior donors to democrats, and, via executive action, force the military and every company doing business with the government to incorporate DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) in their hiring practices, lifting up candidates by race and gender rather than ability to perform the job. If these policies are not inherently evil, nothing is. Yet, mainstream media is in lockstep with the democrat party, foisting this new “reality” on those vulnerable to this insanity. The father of lies is very happy these days.

Christians are called to resist evil and to strive to do good in this world. We are also called in the Great Commission, to make Disciples of all the world. Our God wants all His children to come to Him. The Good Shepherd does not want to lose even one of His sheep. How then do we endeavor to plant the seeds of faith in those who, overcome by Satan’s lies, believe that they are enemies of God and reject the gift of grace? God has made everyone in His image for a specific purpose. No matter how you look, what skills and talents, or lack thereof that you possess are all gifts from God to fulfill His purpose. No matter how confused, angry, or lost, each human being is made to love God and each other. We need to reach out in love to our “enemies” and find a way to open the door and not build a wall as we are wont to do.

Christians are extremely good at pointing fingers at those who are “sinners,” focusing on that speck in their eye as we ignore the plank in ours. While it is difficult to open dialogue with those we vehemently disagree, we are called to love our neighbor as ourselves to open the door for the Holy Spirit to work in them so that they can become our brothers and sisters in Christ. It is all too easy to harbor ill will and ignore our responsibility to “preach the word.” Resisting evil does not mean that we condemn our neighbors. Evil abounds in this world that is the realm of the evil one. Every one of us fall prey to the lies of Satan. There is only one who was without sin and while we are called to be more like Christ, we cannot replace Him and save the lost ourselves. We are the farmers who scatter the seeds of faith, and it is the power of the Holy Spirit that can indwell and convince. Not all seeds will germinate, but we are called to continue to reach out and be the hands and feet of Christ, building His kingdom on earth in preparation for our eventual home with Him.

Identifying the evil that we are called to resist is only the first step in our discipleship. Confronting those unduly influenced by the evil one and his minions is the next step in our servitude of Christ. We must look past the evil in the person, recognize that person is a child of God, even though they may not realize it, and instruct, gently correct, so that they can be saved from the evil that has overwhelmed them. If we can even approach one iota of the love our Father has for us in our interactions, just maybe they can open their hearts, if ever so slightly, to fellowship with the Risen Savior.