Post by danielsa116 on Dec 4, 2012 20:07:20 GMT -5
“To influence a person is to give him one’s soul. He does not think his natural thoughts, or burn with his natural passions. His virtues are not real to him.”
-Oscar Wilde (The Picture of Dorian Gray)
In today’s world, complaining about a biased media is comparable to complaining about the sky being blue. People who have opinions, who are paid to speak about polarizing subjects, will let their views shine through eventually. However, recently, bias is becoming more prominent outside of news channels. Most recently, NBC sportscaster, Bob Costas, used his halftime segment on Sunday Night Football to let everyone know his opinion on gun control in response to the recent murder-suicide committed by an NFL player. Anyone, whether they agree or disagree with Costas’ opinion, had to be wondering why gun control had to be tied in to the halftime show of an NFL football game. Costas did succeed in making his opinion transparently clear, but he also succeeded in veering well off-topic and alienating many viewers watching the game.
Bob Costas’ abuse of his platform as a sportscaster to speak his mind on gun control is one of many examples of how a tyranny of consensus is gradually forming in American culture. Mr. Costas is only receiving the brunt of criticism on this topic because he is the most recent public figure to go out of their way to inject politics into an unrelated subject. However, these types of political interjections are becoming more and more common in more and more places. TV shows, movies, music and many more areas that really don’t have anything to do with politics are inserting little messages here and there, trying to sway their followers. One can even find political interjections, such as these, in a school setting as well. One second, a student is learning about poetry, and the next they could be hearing the teacher’s opinion on any recent political event. This concept was displayed quite prominently in The Crucible where Reverend Parris saw an opportunity to use his social standing as a preacher to help push across his agenda of getting rid of those who disagreed with him on many issues. Just as Parris used his platform, many are using their platform, whatever it may be, to get in their two cents on whatever issue they can loosely connect to the topic at hand. Although it may not be as big of a problem as it clearly was in 1692 Salem, the misuse of one’s position to talk about politics is a problem that could have substantial consequences in the long run.
The fate of Mr. Costas could, in fact, determine the fate of the American public and the fate of Freedom of Speech itself. If, all of a sudden, one ideology becomes seen as universally right because someone on TV says it is or because a teacher said it was, there will be many who become afraid to speak out in defense of their dissenting opinion, just as many were in The Crucible. Americans, like it or not, are quite impressionable and the opinions of the people in this country should not be shaped by the actors, sportscasters, musicians or teachers of this country. People should always have the ability to conjure up their own opinions instead of having them indoctrinated by whomever they come across. America is treading a fine line, and Bob Costas has highlighted that line for us. If Mr. Costas is not found reprehensible for his words, the thoughts of the individual could very well be at risk in the years to come.
Word Count: 599
-Oscar Wilde (The Picture of Dorian Gray)
In today’s world, complaining about a biased media is comparable to complaining about the sky being blue. People who have opinions, who are paid to speak about polarizing subjects, will let their views shine through eventually. However, recently, bias is becoming more prominent outside of news channels. Most recently, NBC sportscaster, Bob Costas, used his halftime segment on Sunday Night Football to let everyone know his opinion on gun control in response to the recent murder-suicide committed by an NFL player. Anyone, whether they agree or disagree with Costas’ opinion, had to be wondering why gun control had to be tied in to the halftime show of an NFL football game. Costas did succeed in making his opinion transparently clear, but he also succeeded in veering well off-topic and alienating many viewers watching the game.
Bob Costas’ abuse of his platform as a sportscaster to speak his mind on gun control is one of many examples of how a tyranny of consensus is gradually forming in American culture. Mr. Costas is only receiving the brunt of criticism on this topic because he is the most recent public figure to go out of their way to inject politics into an unrelated subject. However, these types of political interjections are becoming more and more common in more and more places. TV shows, movies, music and many more areas that really don’t have anything to do with politics are inserting little messages here and there, trying to sway their followers. One can even find political interjections, such as these, in a school setting as well. One second, a student is learning about poetry, and the next they could be hearing the teacher’s opinion on any recent political event. This concept was displayed quite prominently in The Crucible where Reverend Parris saw an opportunity to use his social standing as a preacher to help push across his agenda of getting rid of those who disagreed with him on many issues. Just as Parris used his platform, many are using their platform, whatever it may be, to get in their two cents on whatever issue they can loosely connect to the topic at hand. Although it may not be as big of a problem as it clearly was in 1692 Salem, the misuse of one’s position to talk about politics is a problem that could have substantial consequences in the long run.
The fate of Mr. Costas could, in fact, determine the fate of the American public and the fate of Freedom of Speech itself. If, all of a sudden, one ideology becomes seen as universally right because someone on TV says it is or because a teacher said it was, there will be many who become afraid to speak out in defense of their dissenting opinion, just as many were in The Crucible. Americans, like it or not, are quite impressionable and the opinions of the people in this country should not be shaped by the actors, sportscasters, musicians or teachers of this country. People should always have the ability to conjure up their own opinions instead of having them indoctrinated by whomever they come across. America is treading a fine line, and Bob Costas has highlighted that line for us. If Mr. Costas is not found reprehensible for his words, the thoughts of the individual could very well be at risk in the years to come.
Word Count: 599