Fear the Fox

“We Report, You Decide.”

Give me a break. Although I’m certainly not the first person to criticize Fox News for its reporting style, my main problem with Fox is not as much about their blatant right wing pandering as it is the commentators’ carefully chosen, hyper-inflated diction.

For example, September 11 exposed the vulnerability of what was once thought of as an infallible nation. In the aftermath of that perilous day came the controversial Patriot Act, the invasion of Afghanistan, and the present hostile discourse toward Islam. While some caution is completely warranted by the attacks on America by a few radical Muslims, the perpetuation of this distrust and aggression by Fox News is completely immoral and flat out wrong. We’re coming up on the ten year anniversary of 9/11, yet instead of moving in a more accepting and understanding direction towards people who practice a very peaceful religion, events like the controversy over the “Ground Zero Mosque” strongly indicate the opposite.

Furthermore rather than seeking to educate their viewers on Islam, Fox commentators continuously choose to exploit their unwarranted fears to keep them watching. Ignorance only encourages fear, whose only cure is education.  (I know I’m starting to sound like a broken record here, but get used to it. Education is always the moral of the story).

Unfortunately, Islam hasn’t been Fox’s first target and it certainly won’t be the “news” corporation’s last. Their present coverage on everything from the budget deficit to the President’s military intervention in Libya is just textbook replication of this organization’s hyperbolic style. And how have they been rewarded? With unprecedented high ratings, which only encourages the same reporting methods that produced the gratuitous fear and completely reinforces the vicious, ignorant cycle.

So in the interest of breaking the cycle, I am issuing a challenge to anyone reading this: take ten minutes of your day to watch Fox’s news coverage. Then actually inform yourself on what they were reporting via the Internet (without the use of another news station website either. They’re all biased; Fox is just the worst). The truth might actually surprise you.

Try Wikipedia. They’re much more trustworthy than Fox.

But that’s just what I think.

Activists or Trendsetters?

Yesterday I was taking my garbage out when I noticed a water bottle on the ground underneath the steps that lead up to my room, which is outside the rest of the house. The water bottle had the logo of an US-based NGO working for an end to the genocide in Darfur, and somehow wound up just lying under my steps. I’m assuming someone at the party my neighbors held just before Spring Break left it out there after using it to discretely transport alcohol.

Is it me, or does something seem wrong with this picture?

Though well-intentioned, followers of this kind of activism have essentially transformed the tumultuous and delicate situation in Darfur into a simplified slogan that fits neatly on t-shirts, tote bags, wristbands, and, of course, water bottles. This simplification eliminates the need for subscribers to truly educate themselves beyond the notion that a region of a country far away needs ‘saving.’ This is a problem. Without education, independent of the views and biases of the activist group itself, followers become little more than a headless heart; and this widespread trend will never produce sustainable solutions to any problem.

Not to mention the fact that those methods produce exactly that: a trend. That is definitely not okay. One peoples’ unimaginable suffering should never become another’s trend. Now I know the intent is to raise ‘awareness’ of the crisis in the region, but the point is that what ends up happening is the creation of a culture of awareness, without knowledge.

So if you really want to make a difference in the world then I have two words for you: EDUCATE YOURSELF. I cannot stress enough the importance of being properly educated on all sides of any fragile situation before taking a stance and subsequent action. That doesn’t mean just reading from the activist group’s website either, as that information is indisputably biased. Learn the history, the politics, the religion(s), the people, the geography, the culture. Learn anything and everything. Then go tell people. Tell people who wouldn’t learn it otherwise and definitely tell people wearing the proverbial t-shirt. They’re the ones that, chances are, really need to know.

Activism is a pretty tough topic to write about without upsetting people, but it’s also something that should never be viewed as infallible, and as such must always be interrogated.

But that’s just what I think

Better Attitudes

Today is the 100^th annual International Women’s Day so I figured writing about women’s progress seemed appropriate. While we’ve made great strides in breaking into the voting booth, the classroom, the boardroom, and (almost) the White House, one area we’ve still got to work on is breaking out of archaic stereotypes. You know the one I’m talking about: the submissive woman tied down by her domestic responsibilities. Nowhere else is this better depicted than in ads for cleaning and cooking supplies.

Seriously, watch HGTV, TLC, the Style Network, or any other channel geared primarily toward women, you’ll see tons of commercials for Swiffers, Windex, Pledge, different brands of spices, seasonings, and salad dresses, all with women happily utilizing these wonderful products. The average commercial features a woman home alone (her husband and kids are at work and school, presumably) either cooking or cleaning in casual clothes, while the announcer talks about how this great new multi-surface cleaner or salad seasoning has changed her life all to the tune of soothing, yet upbeat background music.

Ugh, please.

Why do advertisers continually market primarily household cleaning and food preparation products towards women despite our undeniable advances in education, entrepreneurship, and professional development outside the home? Unfortunately the answer is pretty obvious: even though the data doesn’t support this outdated image of the 1950’s housewife (there are plenty of stay-at-home dads now, too and women make up the majority of tons of college campuses!), the attitude is still around. Think about it, the thought of a commercial featuring a man gleefully cleaning his family home with a Swiffer Sweeper or using Reynolds Wrap non-stick foil to make the perfect roast beef dinner for his loving wife and kids seems ridiculous doesn’t it? And that’s exactly the problem.

My point here is that as the emerging generation of enlightened (soon-to-be) college grads to which I proudly belong has got to be better than this. As a society, let’s challenge these ideas that hold women down and put undue pressure on men. We’re better than the “go make me a sandwich" jokes and the “I just raped my exam” remarks. We’re above the assumptions that a woman my age just needs a job to meet a husband that can provide for her. And we’re sure as hell a lot better than trashy rap music that objectify women as little more than ‘bitches’ and ‘shawties.’ So let's start acting like it.

After all, creating a culture of equality is the first step toward a reality of equality.

But that’s just what I think.

The Toxicity of the Westboro Baptist Church

Yesterday the Supreme Court ruled with an 8-1 majority that the Westboro Baptist Church has the right to protest military funerals, despite their blatantly repulsive rhetoric. In a cowardice, but constitutional ruling, the highest court in the most powerful country in the world decided yesterday to protect bigotry, hatred, and pure evil by hiding behind a roughly 220 year-old document. What exactly does this say about ‘the greatest country on Earth?’

An optimist would insist that we’re protecting the important right of all Americans to free speech, but the vile combination of words pouring out of those protestor’s mouths is not speech; it is pure venom with the potential to poison an increasingly accepting nation. And that shouldn’t be protected by any sort of constitution. The one dissenting voter, Justice Alito, shares this view as quoted by the New York Times: “Our profound national commitment to free and open debate is not a license for the vicious verbal assault that occurred in this case.” I wholeheartedly commend Justice Alito for having the courage to think outside his mandate as a Supreme Court Justice and rule in the interests of a society that fosters compassion and acceptance of all walks of life.

While it might seem obvious (at least I hope) that the preachings of the Westboro Baptist Church are irrefutably absurd, let’s not forget that ideas can be very powerful. All it takes is one person to say something like “God hates fags” and one person to listen for that obviously ridiculous notion (the God in which I believe loves everyone, no exceptions) to spread. So this post is a call to be the person who speaks out against that kind of hatred; and it doesn’t have to be that extreme to solicit an opposing response.  Yes people deserve the right to free speech, but that is accompanied by the responsibility to respect their fellow man. If we are to ever become the holistically accepting and compassionate nation that am confident we have the potential to be, then that’s what needs to happen.

So, seriously, speak up next time you hear anything that smacks of intolerance. You really never know the difference it can make.

And to any member of the Westboro Baptist ‘Church’ who just so happens to be reading this (as I hope you someday are): your messages of intolerance and hatred are clear indications of your dangerously low level of humanity. Not only is every word you speak dripping of ignorance, but also the fact that you possess the audacity to express the immense evil you preach in the presence of your fellow man’s unimaginable grief displays an indisputable lack of any scrap of compassion or sympathy in your miserable consciousness. The WBC’s discourse of intolerance has absolutely no place in a country that prides itself on its diversity and your calls for bigotry will continue to fall on the deaf ears of a public that is ready to progress beyond the fanaticism you preach.

But that’s just what I think.