3/04/2017
Disturbing Patterns
Just finished "In The Garden of Beasts" (2011) by Erik Larson. Historical nonfiction is not my usual reading fare, but Larson's "Dead Wake" was so engrossing that I thought I'd give this one a shot. Larson is a master at writing a story that keeps you turning the page, even though you already know how it ends.
This story is set in 1933 Berlin. William Dodd has been appointed by President Roosevelt as the US Ambassador to Germany. He arrives in Berlin with wife and two adult children, completely unprepared for the changes that are already taking place. Through letters and diaries, we get first hand accounts of the systematic dismantling of a vibrant, civilized society by Hitler and his cohorts.
One of goals of the Third Reich was to control the newspapers. Hitler and his senior staff launched a campaign to discredit and shut down unfavorable news. Fear was a major weapon in keeping the truth about the human rights abuses (mainly inflicted on Jews and "undesirables") from getting-out to the world.
Jews were methodically isolated and maligned. Before 1933, the German intellectual and finance community was dominated by Jews. They were the perfect scapegoat for the economic problems that was afflicting all of Europe. By the end of 1933, Jews were forbidden to work for Newspapers, government jobs and most other influential positions in Germany.
By the end of 1934, Hitler was named Fuher. Things did not get better.
I am not the first or only one to notice what is going on in the USA today. I hear similar threats and blaming from our president. The fake news, The media is "the enemy of the people" (a favorite Stalin phrase).
An article in the Ideas section of the 2-19-2017 edition of The Boston Globe ( "Will The Media Be Crushed?" by Martha Bayles) addresses the current sentiment expressed by the Trump administration -- that the media is "dishonest." The irony of the kettle calling the pot black is seemingly lost on many observers on the right.
I think dishonest is the wrong word. The media is not about facts anymore. The media is about entertainment. And money. Journalism is not what it was when I was in college. We took courses in Investigative Journalism that emphasized the who-what-when-where- and why of the news. This isn't the case anymore. The line between "news", "analysis" and "opinion" has become fuzzy. We were taught to report the facts with objective neutrality. Value laden terms or opinions were only valid when in quotes, spoken by a source. You can hardly find a story today that doesn't contain the bias of the author.
Many so-called breaking news stories reveal zero facts. A breathless reporter stands in front of a building, preferably a burning apartment building. "Something may (or may not) happened and we are the first to bring it to you live on (or near) the scene ! More details at 11."
The average American, if he even exists, is skeptical of the news, especially news that forces one to rethink their current beliefs. While we blithely accept the evil that the opponent ideologies wallow in, we are reluctant to accept the notion that our idols may also be flawed.
We must remember that in 1930's Germany, the most educated and successful citizens were not Nazis. It was the less educated, less hopeful masses who joined the Nazis in blaming others for their misery. Much like Trump today, who appeals to the least-informed among us.
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2 comments:
You took.me on a roller coaster ride here. First, Trump is bad like Hitler because he calls the media corrupt. Then, you say the media has lost its way and, although not evil, is not doing its journalistic job ... confusion fact with opinion. And then back to Trump is evil and only stupid people follow him. Perhaps you too are off base in not fully agreeing with Trump about the media. After all one could easily argue that it has been the Left that has been emulating Hitler's putsch by controlling the media for decades. Did not Obama tell us peons many times not to pay attention to the few media voices on the Right?
I, like William Buckley, would rather be governed by a hundred Trump voters than all the "brilliant" professors at Harvard (or Dartmouth).
Well, you are right about the meandering nature of the post. Hope there weren't too many scary twists. In truth, it was an omelet of several fragments loosely related by the media angle.
If I waited to make it perfect I'd never post anything. I didn't imply that the majority Trump followers were stupid, I suggested that they are ill-informed, or, like you, prefer to process those alternative facts that suit your world view.
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