Message From The Council On Foreign Relations

A common theme found within most articles that appear here relates to the absurd cost of US elections. Should it cost a billion dollars or more to elect a US President? And to make matters worse, the need for big money in political campaigns has entered into local municipal elections. How can we as a free society continue to afford overly expensive elections?

The mainstream news media will lightly cover which candidate has raised the most or least amount of money and perhaps a story or two will be written about their respective campaign donors. If you’re a college student and you need an important topic to research and write about, contact your state public disclosure commission and focus your research not on where the money comes from but who’s pocket does it end up in. To get an even bigger picture, take your research to the local media and ask, How much money has your media company received in the last 10 years from the selling of all political ads? I guarantee that this is one of the big issues that you’ll never hear about on television news or read about in any newspaper. What you might also uncover is how some of the campaign money goes full circle. Meaning the donor and receiver are one in the same.

The final question we should all be asking is, Has the mere cost of  political campaigns worked as a deterrent? Meaning, honest and ethical citizens won’t seek public office because they cannot afford it and are unwilling to compromise their core values, beliefs and principles in exchange for required campaign money.

The US Supreme Court has ruled that political money equals free speech and is therefore protected under the first amendment of the US Constitution. Would the founding fathers agree? Would Thomas Jefferson say, America is nation of the wealthy, for the wealthy and by the wealthy? Perhaps the Supreme Court needs to travel across America. What they will discover may come as a complete surprise. The majority are neither wealthy or happy with the complete sellout of America’s political process.

Partisanship, Republican Or Democrat, Is Getting America Nowhere.

There is a solution! Demand from the FCC: 1) The immediate removal of media profit taking from U.S. election campaigns. 2) Create a citizen’s based ‘Elections’ channel that covers all U.S. national and local elections. 3) Return the Presidential Debate process to the League of Women Voters and include Independent participation.

This important question was asked at LinkedIn. Within 24 hours, seven people from two continents provided responses. As of this update, seven additional responses have been cross posted here.

This question and dialog will remain open until we identify appropriate solutions to perhaps the most critical political and media problem of our time.

So far, what have we learned from these answers? A common theme is, Our political and media systems are broken and there aren’t any simple mechanisms in place to fix them.

While I sit here at my desk putting the final touches on this important piece of electronic communication, I’m asking myself, if I were a genie and could simply wiggle my nose, what would I command? Or, better yet, wiggle your nose and share your thoughts by logging in and posting your comments and solutions. The comment box is at the bottom of this Q&A.

Thank you!
Steven E. Thompson – Founder
Freedom From The Press

– Pasted from: http://www.linkedin.com/answers?viewQuestion=&questionID=334660&askerID=32437378

Answers (14)

Bill Nigh

If you’re up for occasional contributors, I would like to keep in touch.

Steve Stokes

Steven,

Everything that can be done is being done. We are getting exactly the political and media institutions that are the consequence of nation make-up. (In other words, we have the system we deserve.) Until the American populous requires more from their politicians and journalists, they are stuck with the pretenders that they current have.

Nonetheless, I wish you luck.

For fun check out my This I Believe essay, and tell me why it was not put on the air… soon you too might end up pandering to the common denominator of the mediocre man.

Ken Robinson

1. For media talk show hosts to return to being non-partisan, presenting both sides of the issues, instead of being cheerleaders for their particular side.
2. For the government to allow the inclusion of the minor party candidates in politcal debates, and to open up the election process to them, so we can hear additional voices and approaches to problems.

Frank Feather

In terms of the politics-media interface, there is little intelligent discourse by both parties. They seem to continuously to be in a shouting match — a trap they have fallen into — which is supposed to attract audiences, who will then become stupefied by the shouting match, and then seduced by advertisers.

As a result of this farcical behavior, both politics and media lose credibility, and the audience eventually comes out of its hypnotic trance and will either abandon both the media and the politics, or will revolt and demand/create change.

The “spin” machine doesn’t work anymore, except on those who are too dumb to know they are being spun. This is largely due to the rise of the Internet, which allows the intelligent constituent to see through the spin and the lies.

As the “spin” cycle comes to an end, we now have a phase of outright fabrication and blatant lies, both spoken in speeches, spit out by commentators who can no longer spin, and in campaign adverts. The wised up electorate sees through all this, and it backfires. It all becomes a big joke, and the blatant ads are beside the point because sane people tune them out.

Fascinating to watch. But what most politicians and their advisors no longer grasp is that the multi-medium is the new message. And the Internet user, not the broadcaster, is in control.

Stephanie Tardrew

Hi Steve, if everyone would just stop a minute a take an honest look at themselves in the mirror, we’d ALL be a lot better off…Change (oh what a cliche) starts on the inside of individuals, not the other way around…In other words, our institutions are all made up of people, people are the problem and the solution is on the inside of every one of us…Cheers

Kara Lamb

Steven,
I think you’re on the right track in recruiting like-minded citizens and giving them a place to come together. But I think we all have forgotten something about politics and media: they only give back to us exactly what we want. What these two vehicles of communication have in common is that they are, for better or worse, created by We the People.

We the People put Washington in power with our votes. I agree, it’s time to change that. Speak, publish, and assemble to get the government you want. We need to challenge our candidates to push for what we really want and need–and vote them out when they don’t follow through.

Media is much the same way. We the People let that run amok, too. Somewhere along the lines, American’s sent a clear signal to those in the mainstream media that we were tired of objective, fair, and factual reporting. So it left. What sells better? An academic journal or People Magazine? You get what you pay for, after all. I still want the press, I just want them to become good again. And I’m willing to pay for it.

So, what I propose is that we don’t really want “freedom *from* the press” (though that is catchy!). We want the press and politics to come back around, become fair and even handed, to take a liking to fact, again. That would be refreshing.

Fair Facts For Freedom.

Best of luck!
–Kara

Rai Chowdhary

Hello Steven,

Much of the news that gets reported is aimed at sensationalizing, and getting the ratings up for the system – which can enable them to charge more for the advertising. Therefore – businesses and media have to re-think what will be measured, and what the reward systems should be. The common man needs to re-consider what they will watch, what they will take in, and how they spend time…

What gets measured gets managed…and money is not the end all be all. America (and for that part much of the world) needs to re-examine their priorities. In the rat race of so called progress…we are building castles while termites (flawed thinking and behaviors) are eating away the critical framework that supports the castle.

We have a long way to go, many of these habits have become embedded in our daily routines and behaviors. And there is no system to reverse the process.

Kevin Harville

My website is bickerin.com, and we have just started it back up again to discuss political solutions.

This is an interesting question, and the first consideration is, “Is it really the best question?” Did we ever HAVE faith in our political institutions? It appears even our founding fathers had faith in neither our political nor media institutions, both of which have always had a bias. That is why we had 3 branches of government up until this century.

But you know who LETS THEM GET AWAY WITH IT? US.

I always thought a true people’s lobby woud be the way to go. They would be an independent minded group who always fought for the overall rights of the people and for truth in politics, versus special-interests and skewed logic.

I have also considered writing a book on how we could “Take Back Your Life!” from the personal, corporate, political, religious, media, and government entities that attempt to exercise control over us.

Susan Shwartz PhD

Tell the truth. Tell the truth without sarcasm or spin or flash so we can distinguish an ad from a policy statement from a law from an editorial from a news story from a sitcom.

Don’t use jargon. Give sources. Call people on it when they do.

Call people on hate speech, which is different from being doctrinaire. THAT’s a pain; hate speech is the stuff that makes you want to throw up.

Don’t go into your own silo with the likeminded. If you’re a straight-arrow, you’re better off with straight-arrows who disagree with you than with people whose slogans make you think “WHAT?”

Insist the press be part of the solution. They claim to be more interactive now, or that’s the impression I get from all the websites, etc. and the warmandfuzzies. Take them at their word. If they blow you off, write it up.

Tell the truth and shame the devil.

Matthew Payne
Pastor at Dryden Community Church, Yakima, Washington

There are pieces of truth in many of the perspectives already shared. Much of the problem comes from our form of government, the freedom we are allowed, and the make up of the people in the country.

Let me just deal with one issue out of the huge number of them.

Hollywood can release movies from wholesome good ones to ones which most people would not ever want a child to watch. (Too bad many people still watch them themselves.) As long as Hollywood has enough money we can expect that things will go on this way. Will enough people quit putting money into Hollywood to cause them to change? No, probably not. There are enough people out there who want the garbage and enough people who will buy the non garbage but in the end still support Hollywood to keep them going. So, since we will always allow freedom of speech even when it spreads garbage and corrupts our society then we should expect nothing less.

People who want the world to be better probably spend less of their money on themselves and more of it on helping others. They therefore have less of a monetary vote which in our society is supreme. They therefore have less of a chance at making an impact.

So, do I believe it it hopeless? No! I agree with the point someone else made that it starts inside of each one of us a person at a time. Let us all start there. I also believe in the power of prayer and I am praying for my family, my church, my community, my country, and my world. May God manifest more of His power here and help us to be better than we currently are!

Jerry York

Steven,

We, we the people have to stop empowering people who use terms like “spin” when they mean lying, “pre-owned” when they mean used. When we see news media not being objective, we need to abandon them.

Candidates who don’t want to debate with legitimate debating rules such as follow-up questions, rebuttals etc, we don’t watch. When we hear people (even friends, neighbors or family) engaging in propaganda or misinformation we need to disavow them.

Until we stand up for our right to real information on the issues, serious debate about what is wrong with this country and how to fix it, our media and political institutions will continue to engage in propaganda, misinformation and lying. It’s easier. It sells to the prurient interests. But it’s wrong.

thanks
jerryork@gmail.com

John Barbuto
MD at Neurology In Focus

Steven,
I believe the answer to your question is found in helping people regain a fundamental belief in themselves. You reference some of the symptoms which derive from our existential disillusionment. In my line of work chronic pain, rampant use of mood altering drugs, and high healthcare costs are other symptoms. Amid the rampant growth of industrial society we have displaced life meaning and lost an ethical structure for existential satisfaction. We do not believe in our institutions because we do not breathe ethical strength into them. And, we do not do this because we do not, collectively, have it to give. Yet, it is never too late. With the stock market meltdown now comes opportunity. Or, so it seems to me.

John Feeney
Video / Security / Media Entrepreneur

Media side – good luck, half truths are the norm

Political side – actually do something beside tells us.

Media will always take one side or another dependent upon what can create viewer. Polictically – we’re all tired of the talk and no action

Earon Davis
Writer, Integrative Bodyworker, Media Advisor, Environmental Policy Analyst and former lawyer

I’d suggest that you get some journalism training so you can see how the field of journalism has been decimated by the business interests that own networks, television, radio and print media – and has largely been replaced with “entertainment” shows. The last thing we need is another “expert” on media who thinks that Fox News or MSNBC is journalism. Consolidation of media ownership, which grew exponentially under the Bush Administration, undermines our political discourse and our democracy.

See http://www.freepress.net.