Gibbs & AllenIt seems our most precious right from the Bill of Rights, our First Amendment Right to free speech is being violated in the Gulf oil disaster. Anderson Cooper of CNN filed this report and the implications are chilling. We have a right to know what's going on. Reporters must be able to continue to share everything they find with the public. There is no accounting for self-censorship or choosing to air a story or not to air a story because it supports a particular political agenda -- we all know every news organization does that -- but at least the reporters are able to see all elements of a story and choose what they bring to us. It shouldn't be the other way around where the government chooses the story. That's propaganda. The reporters then are not ncessary. Any government tool can deliver propaganda.
What is absolutely wrong is the government restricting access. That is censorship and anathema to a free society. But are we a free society? If not, when did it cease being free? If you can't pinpoint anything earlier, then this tidbit from Anderson Cooper is a good starting point. Think about it.
As we celebrate Independence Day 2010, please think about what information you are receiving via the media. Is it truth or censored? Is it honest reporting or just government propaganda?
The nation's Founders must be spinning in their graves.
For more information: Founding Fathers, First Amendment history & discussion, free US Constitution, US Constitution online, Anderson Cooper.
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2 comments:
We get news online from a number of geographically diverse sources...it is amazing what you find out about your own country this way that you would never discover from the T.V. and press!
For example...the europeasn Union Commission - unelected - appoints committeees of experts to help them respond to isses. So on the banking crisis, who is appointed?
Consultants to the very banks getting us in the mess with their dishonest dealings!
Worse, the composition of the committee is secret!
Thank goodness for the net, for dedicated reporters and for whistleblowers!
Fly!! Excellent comment!! Thank you!!
You are so right about finding information in the foreign press. I have my favorite sources and know when I need more information about anything I can generally find it overseas.
I also like bloggers who dig up obscure sources or write their own first hand observations -- they are not filtering the truth as our own "mainstream" media does.
I agree -- thank goodness for the net & the dedicated ones who keep it spinning!! :D
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