President Trump purportedly called the press the “enemy of the people.” Recently Jim Acosta a reporter with CNN suggested in a Whitehouse press meeting that presidential press secretary Sarah Sanders set the record straight by saying those in the press “are not the enemy of the people.” When he got an answer he did not like, he walked out in protest.
The takeaway in that incident for me is there are those within the national news media who are as thin-skinned and narcissistic as Trump. If they cannot manipulate the answer they want to hear then they pout-out. Am I supposed to think such a person will be objective in his reporting?
What is an enemy, a friend?
A working definition of a friend or enemy is; a friend is someone I can trust to tell the truth and an enemy is someone I cannot trust to do the same. I think there is more to being a friend or enemy than this definition describes, but the element of truthfulness and subsequent trustworthiness is certainly an element of friendship and lacking in an enemy.
I expect a friend to not “bear false witness,” Exodus 20:16, nor to exaggerate or slant the truth to the point that what is said is no longer the truth, but “fake news.” President Trump claims to have coined the term “fake news” but according to other sources that may be fake news itself. Who originated the term is not important to me; the fact that it exists and is practiced is a concern.
Tweeting on an interview of LeBron James by Don Lemon, Trump said, “Lebron James was just interviewed by the dumbest man on television, Don Lemon. He made Lebron look smart which isn’t easy to do.”
Racist or narcissist?
James and Lemon are black prompting retired CBS anchorman Dan Rather to tweet that what Trump said was a “disgrace. It’s racist.” I would agree that our president tweets some disgraceful things, but racist?
I don’t think a twitter spat between ego-laden celebrities, even if one of them is the president, is real news, and then to call the president racist when he did not say anything racist in his tweet is an example of fake news. Trump may harbor some racist prejudice in his heart, but I cannot see inside his heart and neither can Dan Rather.
But our president is something just as bad as a racist; he’s a narcissist. He will attack anyone simply because they disagree with him; it has nothing to do with the color of one’s skin or ethnicity.
A race issue that isn’t one.
I know we still have race issues in this nation, but making something a race issue that isn’t one does not help anyone and is racist itself. I pray the day will come in this nation that we all realize there is only one race, the human race; we are all in this together.
Until then journalists like Rather should not slant the truth and needlessly inflame prejudices to win some popularity points. Only an enemy does that.
I enjoy reading your weekly posts and I also discuss some them during our Sunday morning Bible hour. I am looking forward to sharing this one on Sunday. I believe that major of the congregants will more than likely disagree with your assessment of our President.
I agree that most people do not realize that all human being is of one blood and a strike against anyone is a strike against us all (pity). However, what is reported by the Media which consists of predominantly white people (my opinion, I am referring to TV and Cable News) about our President treatment of people who look like me make me feel like he does not like people that look like me.
Now (again, my opinion) I believe there are many people who do not look like me that publically make statements that our President disagrees with or he does not like. There are more of those people who do not look like me than those who look like me. Yet, our President never seems to miss an opportunity to disparage the people who look like me.
It can be very disheartening for anyone who looks like me that lacks self-esteem and confidence within themselves especially since they are so few people who look like me that are portrayed by Media in a positive light.
Paul, I think I understand where you are coming from and appreciate your response. I think I can best express my comments in the words of Leigh Anne Tuohy, the adoptive mother of Michael Oher in the movie “The Blindside,” she said, “Racism is alive and well in this country; we have to learn how to love someone who doesn’t look like us.”
The real issue is that people don’t seem to understand the difference between fact and opinion. Some people believe the world is flat but that doesn’t make it fact. We all need to put on our “critical thinking caps” and look at the world. God has a plan and this chaos and misdirection is part of that plan.
I would agree that people confuse fact with opinion and they bear the responsibility to discern the difference. One of the problems with the news media is they do know the difference and often present opinion as fact to play on that confusion and manipulate public opinion as here. And I also agree believers should apply their God-given, critical thinking skills in filtering out the opinion of the media and not fall prey to their misdirection. Speaking now from a strictly theological perspective, I also agree God has a plan, but chaos and misdirection are only a part of that plan to the extent that God can take human evil and weave it into the tapestry of His ultimate will so that He alone receives glory for the good that transpires in human history.