Misinformation and Lies Too Often Win
So my question is, when will it stop? Too often misinformation and lies win in the general consciousness of the United States today. Incredible. You’d think that with the advent of the information age, our increased rates of high school completions, of college enrollments, and increased access to good information just about everywhere, that people would be more responsible for what comes out of their mouths. So what’s the big deal, right? People are misinformed about many things. I am misinformed often about many subjects well beyond my capacity to understand them.
True enough-we can’t avoid living, for the most part, misinformed lives. What we can do, however, is be more responsible with our own awareness of what we know and what we don’t know. It’s a simple recipe, I think, that can be applied to personal relationships as much as public ones. It’s a simple recipe, I think, that so-called “responsible” journalists should be able to follow in their relationship with the general public. Yet, time and time again, we are accosted by journalism lies and misinformation of the most egregious kind, which for some reason is given national prominence, and is provided the platform to reach millions upon millions of people.
Last week we sent out an announcement about Senator David Vitter’s effort to change the way the U.S. Census does its work. Beneath this announcement, we added a piece about CNN’s ongoing support of Lou Dobbs. If you follow the link, you will land on bastadobbs.com, which demonstrates how CNN (while showcasing its Latinos in America episode) promotes fear and hatred through misinformation and lies about the Latino community, particularly the recent immigrant population, through Lou Dobbs. One begins to wonder, when witnessing such ridiculous statements as the ones that Dobbs makes, how it is that anyone can believe what he has to say about a certain group of people. But then you learn of Vitter’s efforts and it doesn’t seem far-fetched to wonder if maybe Vitter (and millions like him) are informed by “respected news voices” such as Lou Dobbs.
As a naturalized citizen who entered this country as an immigrant, and as a believer in the freedoms, rights and privileges afforded to all people by the U.S. Constitution, as well as a person who served this country through military service when I wasn’t even a U.S. citizen at the time, I am more than personally offended by media depictions that do little more than incite fear and hatred for a group of people that share the same heritages that I do. I am offended as a member of this community, which is vastly more complex and dynamic than any sound bite or brief news article could ever dare explore, and which has been a key part of this country since its very creation. I am also offended that large media networks in radio, print and television choose to allow folks such as Dobbs and others to spew out ongoing lies that increasingly polarize millions people toward anger. What happened to being responsible to us, the audience? And if they don’t care about us all that much, then what happened to being responsible to themselves?
It seems that in many far-reaching circles, which most of us cannot even imagine, powerful decision-makers are easily choosing to act irresponsibly. It seems that the Civil War, the Civil Rights Movement and the Holocaust didn’t have enough of an impact on these folks who pull the strings on what we read, hear and see about ourselves. It seems that, from this vantage point, misinformation and lies are trying very hard to win. I don’t know why they are trying to win, when everything they do could turn against them if one day the rest of us wake up and say something about it.
Tags: CNN, latinola, latinos in america, lou dobbs, lucas diaz, puentes director