Opinions.
I am constantly bombarded with opinions. I can’t escape my mother’s constant texts over her fear for our country, I can’t look at Facebook without being overwhelmed with articles on the Syrian refugee crisis, and I don’t even know if I should believe someone’s story about politics.
What has happened to truth? It’s hard to find, that’s for sure. I had to try multiple searches to find the truth about Trump’s executive order on immigration.
At first, it was filled with politicians quotes of the Statue of Liberty crying (http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jan/28/lady-liberty-crying-democrats-declare-wake-trumps-/), and pictures of Syrian children dying in the streets. Why?
What is the media trying to do?
What are we letting the media do to us?
Fear. Intimidation. These are just a few terms that I would use for the manipulation the media uses to coerce the society.
In a paper written about the use of communication for power by Manuel Castells, he wrote that the way people think and construct their thoughts is the ultimate source of power for the society’s institution to be developed. What I don’t think Castells thought about was what if the way people constructed their thoughts would begin to be controlled? Then this use of power would become manipulated and we would be at square one again.
The media has used tactics of emotion to play on our minds and hearts to create change in our society. For some thing this can be useful, but the politics of the world are ran by law, so shouldn't we make decisions off of the same idea?
So what do we do? First, I think we need to realize as a society, that we are very uneducated for the power we are given. In ancient Greece, those that were allowed to vote were required to be informed, but also study the matter in which they were voting for.
In the middle ages, the medieval people loved to vote and sit in as judges, and stayed informed on the bills to best make a decision.
If American citizens were to focus on the actual bills and legislature, rather than quotes from a local politician or a friend’s Facebook status, then we would all know that Trump did not sign a Muslim ban, but rather a 120 day temporary provision aimed directly at limiting immigration from jihadist conflict zones.
We would know that this bill is nothing new to the government, but that refugee caps have been in place since the mid 1900s. Remember Cuba? What ban do you think Obama lifted at the end of 2016? What do you think that was about, cigars?
The truth about the bill is found in its details:
“When we know our enemy is seeking to strike America and its allies through the refugee population, when we know they’ve succeeded in Europe, and when the administration has doubts about our ability to adequately vet the refugees we admit into this nation, a pause is again not just prudent but arguably necessary. It is important that we provide sufficient aid and protection to keep refugees safe and healthy in place, but it is not necessary to bring Syrians to the United States to fulfill our vital moral obligations.”
This quote and more about Trump’s bill can be found here:
My point about media has been made, and my advice for you is to look for the truth, then make your opinions. Check your sources, and don’t let the media play you. We’re better than that.
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