Lies, slander and Oxycodone

The experiment our founding fathers called democracy rested on an informed public and a free and independent press where differing viewpoints and ideas could be debated. The media has truly become an integral medium for citizens to obtain information upon which decisions can be made.

Whether via the Internet, television, radio, newspapers or other forms of communication, an informed public requires both attentiveness from the people and truthful and honest reporting from broadcasters and reporters. Of course, everyone is entitled to their own opinions, and everyone has the right to free speech. What is necessary, however, is the truthful presentation of facts without bias, prejudice and an attempt to cater to fears and prejudices of others. Reporters and broadcasters have enormous responsibilities to the public to be truthful and honest in presenting both news and viewpoints.

It seems some commentators don’t take that responsibility too seriously these days. Some syndicated radio hosts and reporters have been using their forum to perpetuate blatant lies, fear-monger and show shameful disrespect to our President, our government and our nation.

Rush Limbaugh has made some interesting headlines lately. Limbaugh, as you may know, is a conservative radio talk-show host. He was fired from ESPN for racially charged comments against Donovan McNabb and playing the satirical song, “Barack the Magic Negro” on air. Last week, after news broke that two children (who happened to be black) beat up a child (who happened to be white), Limbaugh commented, “now that we have a black president, blacks are rising up to attack white kids. We need segregated buses. This is Obama’s America.” The fact that the police have now said that the bullying wasn’t racially motivated doesn’t seem to matter much to Mr. Limbaugh.

Glenn Beck has been doing his fair share of radical rhetoric. He claims on his show that President Obama is “a racist” with “a deep-seated hatred for white people.” This is an interesting perspective, especially since Obama’s mother is white. Beck has also draws curious conclusions from President Obama’s decision to start funding stem cell research. He stated, “Here you have Barack Obama going in and spending the money on embryonic stem cell research. Those great progressive doctors are the ones who brought us Eugenics. In case you don’t know what Eugenics led us to: the Final Solution.” Perhaps I’m being overly skeptical, but the Final Solution isn’t exactly my first reaction when I think of cures for paralysis, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis and a bunch of other diseases.

Lou Dobbs has been making a few headlines lately as well. He takes a strong stance on immigration reform, aligning himself with FAIR (The Federation for American Immigration Reform), which many consider an anti-Latino hate group. Dobbs has absurdly warned viewers of “an army of invaders intent upon re-annexing parts of Southwestern U.S. to Mexico.” He continues by stating, “the invasion of illegal aliens is threatening the health of many Americans” through “deadly imports” of diseases like leprosy and malaria. Lou finally tops off his statements by suggesting, “I’m not interested in six or seven views; I’m interested in the truth. Because that’s what I’m interested in; that’s what my viewers are interested in.”

My point is twofold. The first is to express the sheer absurdity of these entertainers (and that is what they are, not newscasters). Limbaugh, Dobbs and Beck are motivated to make outrageous statements in an attempt to gain headlines and, ultimately, money. It should be apparent that all three of these men are highly prejudiced, seeing as all have made derogatory comments about either blacks, Mexicans or Jews. Frankly, they cater their shows to ultra-conservative and prejudicial people. And besides this, all three of these entertainers mislead, misrepresent, lie, drown out facts and replace the truth with dangerous rhetoric and petty attacks. Surely these men have done an incredible disservice to this country.

On the other hand, these are just three men. Though they have encouraged and emboldened people to act in a disrespectful, hostile and inappropriate manner, we have allowed them to influence us. We must unite in boycotting these hateful entertainers and mute their intolerant spew. In an age of XM/Sirius radio, the Internet and digital cable/satellite stations with a thousand channels, there is no shortage of responsible and relevant news reporting and viewpoints based on the facts.

There is a huge amount of sources from which we can hear informative and intellectual debate. Simply put, if you would like to be knowledgeable about the political sphere, then there is a plethora of resources out there for you to tap into. If, on the other hand, you would like to hear radical rhetoric, one-sided views, lies, misrepresentations, prejudices and sheer stupidity, then Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and Lou Dobbs are your guys.

Jack Melamed is a sophomore in Newcomb-Tulane College. He can be reached for comment at jmelamed@tulane.edu.