This has to rank as the all time most hypocritical piece I've yet seen featuring liberal finger waging at conservatives over their ire at the product of the leftist press. It is conservatives, you see, that have "have put the final nail in the coffin of truth," in essence killing the truth, not the left for doing its level best to eliminate the entire concept of truth. It is our fault for pointing out the liberal's efforts to destroy truth not theirs for having launched the campaign. How's THAT for spin?
The Times' Gregory Rodriguez gives us this convoluted logic in "When all truth is relative Conservatives play a dangerous game in attacking the media for bias" from September 29. In it, Rodriguez acknowledges that it is the left and our fetid universities that launched a campaign early last century to make truth relative or situational. But, instead of focusing on this illicit attack on truth, Rodriguez blames those pointing out the folly of relativity for causing what he sees as the downfall of truth. Yes, it's the watchdogs' fault, not the perpetrators!
I say, if you want truth, the truth is Rodriguez isn't mad that the truth has been harmed, he's mad that HIS "truth" has a dissenting voice against it.
Rodriguez' first "truth" is to castigate the McCain campaign for going on the assault against the anti-McCain media. Apparently, Rodriguez imagines that there is some partisan point he can make by focusing on the fact that a few years ago one of McCain's advisers worked as a consultant for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Yet, Rodriguez doesn't seem to find it of interest to mention that Barack Obama himself employs the failed former head of Fannie Mae, Jim Johnson, nor that Obama is the number two highest recipient of Fannie Mae campaign contributions right below Democrat Chris Dodd of the Senate Banking Committee. Rodriguez also doesn't seem much interested that Franklin Raines, one of the culprits in laying Freddie Mac low, is an Obama adviser. In other words, for being worried about "truth," it seems like Rodriguez is only interested in the half that makes HIS side look better.
But that is just his partisan blather and column space filler. The meat of the argument is lower in the story and in it, Rodriguez proves that he doesn't at all "get" the argument, nor what is wanted as a fix, that conservatives are making against the media.
Conservatives may have a point that the traditional media are slanted to the left, but it is also clear that they aren't content with simple ideological balance. What they want, as we have seen, is their own biased media, in the form of Fox News and the Washington Times.
The upshot, ironically, is that conservatives -- those who generally embrace the idea of absolutes -- have put the final nail in the coffin of truth.
This is not correct at all. Conservatives don't necessarily want "their own biased media." What conservatives want is honesty. If a lefty like himself admits they are partisan and biased in everything they do, then that is fine -- free speech and all. But, what conservatives rail against is the obvious lie when media mavens claim they are unbiased in their presentation of the "news," when it is obvious from their product that they aren't unbiased in any way.
But, what does Rodriguez mean when he says that conservatives "put the final nail in the coffin of truth"? What he means is, we should shut up and let liberals have their way because THEY are truth personified. If we blow a claxon about bias, WE are the culprits for having the temerity to point it out. If his truth is threatened by sunlight, we are the bad guys for opening the window.
Rodriguez then goes on to admit that the initial assault on truth came from our universities when it became du jour that the truth was "relative" to the individual instead of having any intrinsic worth in and of itself. In this, he is 100% correct. The left's goal is to make truth malleable so that they can better push their collectivist ideas. For, if truth is relative, anything goes.
But Rodriguez shows that he is still thinking in relative terms when he blames the death of truth on conservatives.
But if conservatives care so much about the truth, why then do they condone the GOP's constant haranguing about media bias, with its emphasis on knee-jerk, blanket charges of partisanship rather than on arguing a case?
He seems not to understand that there are generalities that, even while not being 100% true in every case, can be true enough to serve to set the tone of the debate. For instance, when one says the sky is blue one is generally correct. But, sometimes the sky is gray, green from tornado activity, or blazing red at sunset. But the fact that the color of the sky is not always strictly blue does not destroy the fact that the sky is usually blue.
In this way, one can say the "media are liberal" and be correct. Polls repeatedly show that in the 80 percentile range, journalists pronounce themselves liberals. Studies have shown over and over that liberal causes, ideals, and personalities get the bulk of favorable attention by the media. But, no one, not even conservatives, are truly saying that the media is 100% liberal, that no conservative voices are heard at all. But, the media is sufficiently liberal to prove the general statement to be correct.
So, to say "the media are liberal" serves as the perfect, truthful starting point to begin the discussion. But, it does not eliminate truth as Rodriguez wants to claim.
No doubt because it's a simpler-to-communicate message; no doubt creating boogeymen is easier and perhaps more effective with voters than arguing evidence and fact. But conservatives in particular should understand that constant discrediting of the media is one of the best ways to further the postmodernist agenda. It erodes the belief that there is something real and solid, and it lends credence to the idea that all truth is relative because it is always filtered through the biases of its messengers.
Once again, he blames the messenger for the message. In fact, his only alternative is for conservatives to shut up and allow the media to continue to warp the truth and lie through their teeth without being confronted. He also has just told you all that you are too stupid to know the difference between spin and truth. After all, if he imagines that denigrating the media makes you so distrust anything you see and hear, he is also saying you aren't smart enough to figure it all out when all sides are presented. This proves the elitism of the media as well as its penchant for distorting the truth and wishing to have a free hand to do so.
Talk about arrogance.
Rodriguez ends with a final finger wagging point.
Although this gambit may pay short-term political dividends, in the long run it only serves to further divide Americans into their ideological enclaves -- with conservatives getting their news from X and liberals from Y. More important, by undermining the very idea of truth, it also undermines the idea that, as a nation, we can collectively and honestly describe and find solutions to the problems we all face.
First of all, it is human nature to favor sources with which one agrees. It is education that proves the decision maker. But in this statement, Rodriguez reveals quite a lack of historical knowledge. Before the media became almost monolithically leftist in ideological makeup, there were all sorts of partisan sources from which America got its news. What Rodriguez is lamenting here is not the loss of real, balanced news, but the loss of his side having a monopoly on that news.
What Rodriguez wants is a leftist lock on the dissemination of the news back so that his side can control the debate. He does not want the open exchange of ideas. He wants his side's positions to be the only ones debated. And the main reason for this is: he thinks you are too stupid to be allowed to make a decision.
So much for Rodriguez' "truth."
(Photo credit: the New America Foundation)




















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Comments Policy
Like Howard Dean once said
September 29, 2008 - 19:48 ET by 10ksnookerTruth comes in versions now. Which version is dead? His? That might be good as the drive by media seems to like to construct phony truths and live in that lala land.
By exposing their lies,
September 29, 2008 - 19:51 ET by JerryBy exposing their lies, conservatives have killed the truth.
What a unique perspective.
When asked if he went to war with Iraq to derail the impeachment vote: “I don’t think any serious person would believe that any President would do such a thing." - President Clinton (Dec 1998).
The king is dead, long live
September 29, 2008 - 20:52 ET by dscottThe king is dead, long live the king! The truth only lives when the sum of the facts are fully tallied.
Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, starving the poor one gallon of ethanol at a time. Fill your tank with E85 and cull a village.
I guess by exposing Nazi
September 29, 2008 - 19:53 ET by JerryI guess by exposing Nazi concentration camps, the Allied forces slaughtered millions of Jews.
When asked if he went to war with Iraq to derail the impeachment vote: “I don’t think any serious person would believe that any President would do such a thing." - President Clinton (Dec 1998).
bonehead
September 29, 2008 - 19:56 ET by boozythis character is over the top...what a bonehead....Liberals have destroyed my home state, california...come and take a look at what your "liberal" ideals have created....time to bring this country back to normal...family, religion, state and the opportunity to make each of these areas better...Rodriquez....go figure..I would expect nothing less..
Ha
September 30, 2008 - 00:12 ET by arkansaszippersA racist on this site...go figure.
Zip
September 30, 2008 - 01:06 ET by well99Your a racist?Glad you owned up to it.Now get help.
arkfly,
September 30, 2008 - 01:13 ET by R D HelmDefine the term "racist."
You have one chance to get this right.
I'll give you a hint here, a racist is not someone who disagrees with a person of color, as you were no doubt taught in government school, a place that clearly wussified and de-gonaded you..
-Dave
Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them - Rick Roberts
My troll fuse length today: 0.003mm
I will translate for Greg
September 29, 2008 - 19:56 ET by well99Quit bringing out the truth.It detracts from our lies.The msm works hard at createing half truths and printing unvarified stories coming from bias lying swill suckers.Why cant you blogs that post facts about are hogwash leave us alone.Just do as we say because we know what is best for the unwashed masses.
Some good links
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiEWCnpNnBQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNqyt2vac4E&feature=iv&annotation_id=event_496563
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afMXn9_IYCU&feature=related
You might want to check them out before youtube bans them
September 29, 2008 - 19:57 ET by MidAmerica..............WITCH.................
Ohhh -- you cursed brat! Look what you've done! I'm melting! Melting! Oh - - what a world -- what a world! Who would have thought a good little (blog) like you could destroy my beautiful wickedness!? Ohhh! Look out! Look out! I'm going. Ohhhh! Ohhhhhh....
Well, there you go....
September 29, 2008 - 20:08 ET by motherbeltWe now have "relative" truth.
Motherbelt, speaking of relatives,
September 29, 2008 - 20:32 ET by goldenthroatThis knucklehead looks like he and Al Franken were separated at birth!
"Mediocrities everywhere! I absolve you! I absolve you!" - Antonio Salieri in "Amadeus"
Golden
September 29, 2008 - 20:38 ET by BlondeI seriously, serially, thought it was Eric Estrada from C.H.I.P.S. when I first saw the pic.
About the same intellectual capacity, apparently.
David Gregory, do you know which damn network you lie for? ~ Uncle Jimbo, @Blackfive
Truth
September 29, 2008 - 20:35 ET by doug1950This jackass wouldn't know the truth if it ran over him.
Yes, it's the watchdogs' fault, not the perpetrators!”
September 29, 2008 - 20:53 ET by spiffThe Times' Gregory Rodriguez gives us this convoluted logic in "When all truth is relative Conservatives play a dangerous game in attacking the media for bias" from September 29. In it, Rodriguez acknowledges that it is the left and our fetid universities that launched a campaign early last century to make truth relative or situational. But, instead of focusing on this illicit attack on truth, Rodriguez blames those pointing out the folly of relativity for causing what he sees as the downfall of truth. Yes, it's the watchdogs' fault, not the perpetrators!
This sounds like a perfect fit for “On Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs” by Dave Grossman.
Vote NO on Arizona Proposition 202
It's not what they say it is!
http://stoppropositi...
He gets paid for this?
September 29, 2008 - 20:59 ET by JWFCan we send him a dictionary?
the very assault on the idea that there is such a thing as truth at all.
Yes there is a truth, Virginia. You know what we call it? The truth. SLAP! Sorry, had to due that, first she questions Santa Claus now this.
Truth, honesty, facts. They are hard defined words in the dictionary. Just like all the hard defined words in the Constitution.
Construct, postmodern - hokey made up crap on a toasted wheat cracker.
conservatives generally have found postmodernism distasteful and have vociferously protested its emergence
YOU DON'T LISTEN! I just said postmodernism is made up crap on a whole wheat cracker.
Another thing. Why is it only conservatives can complain about media bias? Do they have some patent on the idea. bias - another hard defined word in the dictionary. Someone other than conservatives can't see it?
I happen to know WTH is not a conservative. He is an alien from planet Klutuotoshamumu where they have 3 brains, 1 for every day stuff and 2 that do nothing but grind facts, numbers, massive amounts of words. Oh, and the 2 brains help them levitate 4 feet off the ground. WTH sees the bias too!
Sincerely,
a Veteran of a 1000 psychic wars.
I apologize...
September 29, 2008 - 20:57 ET by MexNobama...for this idiot on behalf of Latinos everywhere.
The truth is that the vast majority of Latinos are Christian, and therefore at least socially conservative. On top of that the Latino work ethic is a point of cultural pride.
This is not to say that there are no lazy morally bankrupt Latinos.
I am asserting rather that as a group of cultures (and that's what we really are, not the monolithic voting block we are supposed to be) on the whole Latinos tend to be conservative in the true meanings of the word:
Pro Family
Pro Work
Pro God
Self Sufficient
Those are fixed absolutes.
Thanks for reading.
No worries, MexNo
September 29, 2008 - 21:00 ET by BlondeAfter a while, it's no biggie.
I've apologized for dumb blondes all my life....it is what it is!
David Gregory, do you know which damn network you lie for? ~ Uncle Jimbo, @Blackfive
Thanks Blonde
September 30, 2008 - 11:43 ET by MexNobamaRodriguez is his own entity.
If he wants to follow the liberal lemmings over the cliff that it his own problem.
I refuse to go with him.
Hyprocrit, thy name is for Rodriguez
September 29, 2008 - 21:14 ET by CobraMan"But if conservatives care so much about the truth, why then do they condone the GOP's constant haranguing about media bias, with its emphasis on knee-jerk, blanket charges of partisanship rather than on arguing a case?"
Constant haranguing? Knee-jerk, blanket charges of partisanship? That's exactly what Rodriguez is doing, yet he doesn't even realize it. Where are the examples of "haranguing," where's the examples of "blanket charges," where's the examples of "ideological enclaves," for that matter? He doesn't give any at all.
Rodriguez, your profession no longer has a lock on public information. Modern technology has given people access to more information than you and the rest of the media has ever been able to provide throughout history. We are able to discover on our own more information than you can provide. This means that you and your fellow "reporters" can no long control public perceptions. I believe that THIS is what bothers you the most, and not some non-existent "ideological enclave."
Obama: My job is above my pay grade
Fired off an email
September 29, 2008 - 21:34 ET by Indiana JoeBecause there's no comments section. So here's what I said:
---------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. Rodriguez,
Having just read that article, I am amazed at your reasoning. You admit that the idea of "truth" has been under "assault" since the '60s, yet your solution to this is what? Surrender of the thousands-of-years-old "classic" version to the 40-year-old "post-modern" version? What "logic" is that? The logic of capitulation? I'm surprised a journalist would feel that way. More than surprised, in fact. Is truth that malleable to you?
That seems your only answer to complaints of bias in the major media outlets. You point to Fox and the Washington Times as evidence that "conservatives" don't want "balance." So, you charge that those two organs are biased, yes? Surely you do sir, by implication. Yet somehow that charge should be taken as valid when you obviously think conservative charges of bias against many more than two outlets are somehow "creating boogeymen." And you are not? By what definition?
You seem to think that the existence of TWO outlets that you charge with bias are more valid than any "conservative" charge of bias against many outlets. That is an intellectually arrogant point-of-view. Has it occurred to you that maybe those two outlets exist as part of an attempt at some balance? No, you claim they prove that conservatives want the bias to be for them. You have much less evidence of that charge than there is of the charge you dismiss so cavalierly.
And you blame the messenger for the damage done by the message. With that sort of logic, I would also assume you blame the police for burglaries, yes? You cannot embrace the first conclusion without the second. You clearly have no interest in where the truth actually lies. You are an unapologetic "post-modernist." I guess that's much better than worrying about "the truth," but I'll pass. If people of different political beliefs are made to seek out news that isn't biased, but is an honest reporting of facts, the fault lies not with those who see the difference, sir, but with those who create the difference.
Sincerely,
------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's what a comment would have sounded like:
What are you, a moron? Who do you think will buy this kind of stupidity? The truth is now "relative" because you say so? Your answer to the problem of charges of "bias" is for the people who are telling the truth to shut the hell up? You're an arrogant snob who has no idea of what the truth is, what it means, or why it is needed. You are more dangerous than a baby with a handgun, because you are capable of causing much more harm. Not only do you offer no solution while denying there is a problem; you illustrate the depth of the problem and the determination it will take to actually solve it.
Something like that, anyway.
"... smells like... victory." - Robert Duvall
Open letter to LA Times editors and owners
September 29, 2008 - 22:22 ET by wdhorningYour portfolio in the toilet?
Blame it on Democrats:
http://election.news...
Greg, baby....
September 30, 2008 - 01:03 ET by wnaegele...checked your circulation figures lately? If all journalists are as clueless as you, then newspapers soon will be only a memory
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE...
September 30, 2008 - 04:39 ET by danybhoywnagele, you are spot on, Greg Rodriguez does'nt get it, & his bosses at the LASlimes & the rest of the MSM don't get it. They will be a memory, hopefully in my lifetime.
I do want the LASlimes, & other papers like the NYSlimes & the WashCompost for example, to go out of business, but I want the FREE MARKET to decide that they are not needed/wanted. Leftists want to put FoxNews & talk radio out of business by USING THE FORCE OF LAW to do so. "Fairness Doctrine" anyone?
As for Rodriguez, attacking the MSM is EXACTLY the right thing to do. The quicker we can rid the MSM of the crap that has ruined the media in this nation, the better. Problem is, the MSM is turning into a left wing blog site, BSNBC is basically a combo of the DailyKos & Air America. The people have rejected it judging by the ratings, & that's a good thing.
"...it's still We The People, Right?" Megadeth
Death To The MSM!!!
September 30, 2008 - 01:04 ET by Asian ConThere was a thread a little while ago about how we shouldn't root for the demise of old media. I don't remember who authored it. I think it was you, Warner. BTW, I'm new here and I love it. I can't speak for anybody else but, I for one, hope that every stinking piece of liberal toilet paper ends up in the kommode. Is that how you spell it? I hope that all these propoganda peddlers end up on the streets standing in line at the soup kitchens. You are judged in this world by what you do and who you associate with. Something BHO should remember. I have no empathy for any of these POSs.
"Americans, in the final analysis, want a strong economy and wish to live in safety and security. So the choice is simple. It's McCain." - Larry Elder
AC, LOL-Why wish death on those who are dead already?
September 30, 2008 - 01:08 ET by R D HelmAnd welcome to NewsBusters. :-)
-Dave
Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them - Rick Roberts
My troll fuse length today: 0.003mm
Thanks RD!
September 30, 2008 - 01:14 ET by Asian ConWell, the nail is in the coffin but, they're still clinging to life. I would, personally, love to be the gravedigger to shovel that last bit of dirt on them. They hold way to much power in the political process. Although, I don't completely trust the polls, it shouldn't even be close and that's what worries me. People just can't be this stupid, can they?
"Americans, in the final analysis, want a strong economy and wish to live in safety and security. So the choice is simple. It's McCain." - Larry Elder
AC,
September 30, 2008 - 01:27 ET by R D HelmPeople just can't be this stupid, can they?
LOL-Well, there is that fifty+ years of guv'mint edjumicashun thing going on. :-O
BTW, you can call me Dave.
LOL-Someday, I'll explain the RD thing.
-Damned embarrassing, that was.
-Dave
Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them - Rick Roberts
My troll fuse length today: 0.003mm
Can't Argue With That, Dave! LOL!
September 30, 2008 - 01:31 ET by Asian ConAnother reason why education should be privatized. How do we combat this? Where are all the young conservatives to enroll in J school? On a related note, you're not going to believe this! Well, maybe you will.
http://confederateyankee.mu.nu/archives/274481.php
Pass it on.
"Americans, in the final analysis, want a strong economy and wish to live in safety and security. So the choice is simple. It's McCain." - Larry Elder
Do you think...
September 30, 2008 - 08:17 ET by i was just thinking...he realizes that in this sentence:
"What they want, as we have seen, is their own biased media, in the form of Fox News and the Washington Times."
he was able to cite only two media outlets as conservative?