The Senses Novels tell of a dystopian future that can easily become our reality. I will tell you a dirty little secret, I hope that it does. Oh, I don’t want to live through the events that I detail in the books, but I want the things described to come to pass. Every Christian should if they believe in the Bible. And, as I sit here writing this, I see that day coming closer with every passing moment.
The concept of ‘innocent until proven guilty’ has become a thing of the past here in the United States. This idea, the presumption of innocence, has been the bulwark of our law from the inception of our country, and now it is gone. Lawyers and judges will argue that what I’ve said is a lie, but I am going to prove it to you with one simple ‘hashtag,’ #MeToo.
Now, every man or woman is guilty until proven innocent. While I believe that this ‘movement’ has done an amazing amount of good, it has also done some horrific damage. Women and men have lied about what has happened to them and, because of the presumption of guilt, the media has carried the news as though it were the truth. When the lies are exposed, the press makes a brief mention of it and moves on.
I am not picking exclusively on this particular subject. The problem is widespread. The idea that someone is automatically guilty has become a standard because of the way news is presented to us. Think back to some of the examples over the last few years where we were presented with an incident, made to believe that the individual involved was guilty of something and then was later found innocent by the courts. Even a former president loved to leap to conclusions before all of the evidence was known.
The media influences the way we think and feel. That is now what they believe their job is. The clear and concise reporting of facts has disappeared under a fog of bias and opinion. This is why the term ‘fake news’ has come into existence. NO news outlet is immune, NONE. Some are worse than others, but everywhere you turn, newspapers, internet, radio, and television, you will find that real reporting has vanished and been replaced with editorializing. The worst part is that this is nothing new.
The Spanish American war was, in the words of Wikipedia, “the first conflict in which military action was precipitated by media involvement” and “The two newspaper owners credited with developing the journalistic style of yellow journalism were William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer. These two were fighting a circulation battle in New York City. Pulitzer owned the New York World, and Hearst the New York Journal. Through their disregard for responsible journalism, the two men are commonly credited with leading America into the Spanish–American War.”
Yellow journalism has become the norm in the U.S., not the exception. Today, it may not be starting wars, but it is ruining lives. Before you accept another story about what someone has or has not done, ask yourself these questions:
· Is the source really credible?
· Are there witnesses to whatever actions are being reported?
· Is there physical evidence of any kind?
· Are people backing the story of one side based solely on emotion?
These questions are the sign of a discerning mind that uses critical thinking.
My advice to you is to stop listening to the loudest voices and pay attention to facts.
I pray you are having a great weekend!
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