This isn’t The Age Of Aquarius

Eric Renderking Fisk | September 2nd, 2005 

Last week, I was thinking about no longer hosting news links about The War On Terror. I was no longer going to focus some of my attention at what’s going on in the biggest and most important news topic of this decade. The simple fact is, it’s been exhausting and I thought that it was opening up The FC to unwanted and unjustified criticism for being a “political website.” I’ve had liberals tell me that this site is too conservative, I’ve had conservatives tell me the site’s too liberal, but it balances out when people on both sides tell me that we’re more “Fair And Balanced” then FOX-News.

Yet, I can’t ignore what’s going on: To an extent, this is our “World War II” which has morphed into our generation’s Vietnam… thanks to the manipulation of the media.

I can’t report on how the events of World War II still affect us today, host links to where the veterans and heroes are being honored while the remaining Nazi’s are being hunted and persecuted… while at the same time a different type of World War is being fought now.

I can’t do nostalgia with a “la te da” attitude and focus on just the fun and games for the folks who are trying to recapture some of that spirit of a by-gone era when the substance of today mirrors and echo’s what happened during the second world war.

Every day in my search for news, I’m astounded and appalled at what makes it into the news everywhere else besides here in The United States.

Which brings me back to my irritation with the media that has been downplaying the threat of Al-Qaeda and ignore the good that’s being done in Iraq and Afghanistan but obsessing on the bad. Selfishly, it's all about selling more magazines and newspapers, and nothing sells more than sensational stories about our “failures” in the Middle East: Bad News equals good news in sales and ad-revenue.

Bad news also perpetuates the notion that Iraq is our generation’s Viet Nam, a cause for celebration for those who hope to have their own “Age of Aquarius,” while those who might have a legitimate grievance are overshadowed and ignored.

I’m not saying that all those who protested were un-American or not patriotic during the war in Vietnam and for civil rights for in the 1960’s, I’m saying that some of those who are protesting now are doing so because they have an over-romanticized view of what happened during that turbulent decade and believe it was one big party and now it’s their turn to “Tune in – Turn On, and Dropout.”

This rant isn’t a slam on people who are for or against the war because they have done their homework. I’m trashing the people who have no idea what’s going on in the world but who have formed their opinions based on something said by a celebrity. I’m trashing the “War Protestors” who are doing so because it’s the “In Thing” to do. I believe too many protestors today are doing so because they’re intellectually coerced through pop-culture manipulation.

If you're young and uninformed, the worst thing that can happen is that your favorite performer says something based on some wild speculation or imaginary espionage cooked up by some other crackpot out to sell himself as an "Insider" at a cocktail party in Malibu or elsewhere in the Hollywood area. "My favorite Icon said it, I relate to him/her... so it MUST be true!"

There’s some genuinely bigoted and arrogant comments being said that only “Critical Thinkers” and those who are “With it” think a particular way and buy whole-heartedly some ridiculous fiction about wide-reaching conspiracy about “What’s really going on,” yet have done nothing more then parrot speculation from one source and reported it as “fact.”

If you formed an opinion based on listening to BOTH sides of the argument, good for you and you’re someone that I want to hear from. … But if you’ve formed an opinion on Politics, The Environment, or social issues only because of something you’ve heard a celebrity spew and you’ve never read a newspaper, watched the news, or got information on your own - stop. Nobody wants to listen or read something that’s an iteration or regurgitation of something a celebrity or a performer has already said ad nauseam.

Do I think there are some people with legitimate reasons to be against the War In Iraq? Sure… but not enough of them.

Critical Thinking and Skepticism is A Traditional Value.

I totally admit that what I’ve said is somewhat contradictory: I have no respect for opinions of the protestors who have based those opinions on what celebrities or “Info-tainment” news anchors have told them without putting any effort into discovering the facts for themselves… while at the same time it seems obvious to me that the news media is bending over backwards trying to manipulate the news in such a way as to try and recreate the turmoil and controversy of the Vietnam war protest. The elite media has done this at the cost of lulling people into a false sense of security about the threat of another terrorist attack by Al-Qaeda and not reporting the good things our troops are doing overseas simply because reporting the truth all the time doesn’t suit their needs.

Nobody knows more than me that it’s difficult and frustrating to get to the heart of the matter while it’s so easy to let celebrities and news anchors/commentators do the heavy cerebral lifting for us. There’s no easy answer besides diligence and share what you know with others in fighting ignorance and ignorant fools on the left and the right.

I’m asking that you rely on many different sources from around the world and from both sides of the political spectrum. Listen to what as many people have to say, then decipher what you’re told and differentiate the truth for yourself. In forming your opinion on what’s going on in an era that’s becoming more dangerous and confusing than the aforementioned eras, you’ll exercise some individualism and won’t be taken in cheaply from someone who might be trying to manipulate you for their own political gain.