[Rhodes22-list] Joe the Plumber and the MSM

[pdgrand at nospam.wmis.net]

October 17, 2008

Joe and the Devil

Uwe Kiefer

Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, you did us all a great service. You spoke to
power, you questioned your leaders, and in the finest traditions of a
democracy you stood up and put it to 'em.
Because of this brave act I now know how much you made in 2006, that you
are divorced, you wouldn't have been all that affected by Obama's tax
plan, you're not a papered plumber in Ohio, and you're 34. You can thank
the media for this, personally I never cared. But for standing up and
speaking to power your private life has been plastered all over the United
States.

Gone is the discussion over Progressive Taxes. Gone is the discussion of
Obama's policies and what they really mean for an economy and culture like
America's. Gone is the discussion of how Obama's philosophy applies to
American reality.

Joe, your story isn't sad because of you, it's sad because the best
Republican Party strategists trying to get McCain elected were trumped by
a 34 year old plumber who asked a simple question.

And it's really sad when a regular, private citizen exercising his right
to question his leaders is rewarded by having his private life barfed up
all over the MSM, his integrity and honour made the issue instead of the
policy of the would be ruler.

I do not care how much you made in 2006. I do not care that you aren't
papered in Ohio. I do not care, and can't even imagine the relevance, that
you are divorced.  You scared the American media, who are (almost) totally
in the Obama camp, so they went out and got all the information they
could, sent it press and violated your right to privacy. If there is no
legal violation, certainly there is one in spirit.

I wouldn't be surprised, and would totally understand, if you never wanted
to question another politician in your life. The media decided to make you
the issue, even though the issue you raised with Obama is the one that
directly relates to them and the country.

Joe, do you know what is really scary about your story? It's that the
media doesn't understand the damage it's doing to itself by pillorying
citizens who question their leaders. If the people are too scared to stand
up and question their politicians for fear of having their private lives
exposed all over the media then the people will stop questioning and we're
one step closer to complete political apathy - glassy eyed citizens
blindly accepting what the government - or any power structure - says.

In such a world, even if the media does do its job and exposes a corrupt
government, would we even care? They helped turn us into docile subjects
and in the process diminished all value they used to bring to our culture.

But wait! How did this come about? It came from the institution we have
relied on to help us question those who hold the power. Albert Brook's
character in Broadcast News<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092699/> gives a
speech about how 'The Devil' will come to us in small steps, eroding our
values slowly, meticulously. Joe, your story is a perfect representation
of that metaphor. By creating a climate of fear those who would speak to
power won't, and our shared value of questioning our rulers will be
diminished.  'The Devil' is that much closer to his goal, and all thanks
to the media.

Their error is self destructive. The media is supposed to be an
institution we rely on. The more they contribute to a process that makes
private citizens scared to question their leaders, the more destruction
they do to their own foundations.

I propose a complete ban on reporting any citizen's private information
unless that information is relevant to a crime or breach of public trust.
(I'm sure a lawyer could word that better.)  We must feel protected from
the media, we must feel that questioning power doesn't expose us to
personal risk; especially from the one institution we have always relied
on to help us question power.  America's fundamental rights include
privacy and free speech, for the millions of Joes out there; this 'Devil'
must be thwarted.

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