Monday, April 8, 2013

Education, Education, Education.



          Unfortunate and absurd reality. I feel that dedicating to my blog to this topic specifically is a waste of not only my time but the time of my readers. Instead, I would like to dedicate my blog to what I argue is the single, best way to combat sheer ignorance, education. First I will address this article in the best way that I know how to. People will always find a way, an excuse to combat what they find moral repulsive or not well understood. Homosexuality has bared the brunt of this. The article while ethically, morally, and scientifically revolting exercises its right to free speech, and if people choose to believe this non-sense I find it unlikely that they were reasonable or rationale in the first place.
          What we can do as a people to ensure that the population remains reasonable and rational is to educate them. I mean this in two distinct ways. The first is that we must educate our children to know what scientific evidence is and what is hatred and bigotry. Science has been the single best and worst argument against hundreds of thousands of people’s inferior condition. African Americans were thought to have skulls more similar to monkeys and to be inferior due to the color of their skins; all of this was “affirmed” through scientific knowledge. Really it was confirmed through the hatred of another human being. The second way is more specific to the article but being honest about homosexuality. The quote that strikes me is “homosexuality is illustrated in hundreds of species, but homophobia is only found in one.” People do not become homosexuals through a vaccination or being taken over by the devil, or whatever else society likes to say. These people are homosexual from birth and there is nothing a parent can do to avoid this “horrific” fate.
          Teaching our children to be ethical and moral creatures is so important, and in turn we teach them to be moral and ethical scientists. Who not only care about their peers but work to provide necessary research and understanding to real concerns, rather than societal constructed ones, in this case homosexuality. I will not say that we should not rally against those who produce this type of work for human consumption, but we should focus on who we can change, and that is the youth. Education, education, education, they are the future.

Monday, April 1, 2013

Fox News for All



          Fox news has easily been the single most controversial news source of our time. Not only has its reliability been vigorously tested but so have their journalism ethics. Clearly, a catch phrase does not actually express the reality, meaning there is no accuracy to the statement. Fox News was developed to express a specific point of view to a single specific audience. Unfortunately, it has come at the expense of accurate information. While there is a great deal of criticism to be had for Fox News we cannot forget all the other types of media as well. Fox News may be the most guilty of dissemination of false information, but they are surely not alone.
          To argue that “fairness and balance” leads to a misinformed audience may be true, but I argue is not the case for Fox News. In order to make that argument you first have to argue that they are “fair and balanced” which seems to be not true these days. The information they provide is often in opposition of the “liberal media” and stands on the ground of America, the greatest country in the world.
          The media is both a blessing and a curse of the dissemination of information. They do have the opportunity to do what is honorable by both themselves and the information, but typically it is warped to fit their demographics. Unfortunately, most news sources, such as Fox News, are not “fair and balanced” but gimmicky and abusive of power. For instance the war in Iraq has portrayed the citizens of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan as terrorists to American society. This allowed the government to pursue their own agenda with little to challenge from the public. This was the case of Fox News, and many other sources as well. I often wonder if media was not about the numbers how much truth would come about. Until the media is set to a standard that is not financial, but accurate and truthful, we will never know whole truth or “fair and balanced” media.