The debate over religion in the United States has long been a contentious one, but for practical purposes, the role of news in the modern-day religious, dogmatic war on the secular nature of the Constitution and how it came about, are vital components worth exploring. This very real and insidious movement cites an overall goal of creating a Christian state governed by Christian ideologies. This has been an ongoing process. Throughout the last thirty years, the Supreme Court has been stacked with conservatives. Now, a modern day, conservative news network has come into existence, providing new life for the assault to take on a more subversive nature. The deterioration of the wall between Church and State has gone largely unchecked, no longer having the watchful eye of the independent free press, as the television news media has deteriorated into an indiscernible mass of partisan punditry.
In today’s world of instant and perpetual television reporting, the dynamic of what constitutes “news” has changed substantially since the days of Walter Cronkite. We have moved from investigative journalism designed to provide objective information and answers, to a twenty-four hour, voyeuristic gluttony in the form of opinion and subjective analysis that offers rumor and theory as fact, and often seeks to create exaggerated conflict for the sake of boosting ratings. Even more to the point, a large amount of this news is actually misinformation in the form of skewed fact for political gain. Since uniformed reporters become more eager to be first to break stories, there is more and more conjecture and out-and-out, unchallenged lies from “experts”, rather than accurate reporting. The abandonment of quality for the sake of quantity has encouraged cable media outlets to compete, not for the most accurate and reliable reports, but for who can create the most entertaining and contentious commentary.
The conservative Fox News outlet took the lead in this category shortly after Obama won the election, when we saw their narrative develop into one of blame for the new president’s inability to immediately fix the economy. They built on the feelings of helplessness among the unemployed and, after that seed of doubt took root, they began to slowly shape a discourse questioning Obama’s ability to lead and how our economic plight was a direct result of Democratic ineptitudes. The evolution of this theme came to full realization after a tirade by Rick Santelli on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange about the irresponsibility of homeowners in the economic crisis. With a tactically placed hand, Fox was able to use this as a rallying cry for a return to free market economics, while shaking off the fist of the tyrannical government and subsequently gave birth to the Tea Party Movement.
The Tea Party, nurtured by Fox News pundits Glen Beck and Sarah Palin, preaches the merits of the uninhibited free market and a return to traditional Constitutional values as defined by the conservative right. The movement identifies as a grass roots coalition devoted to wresting America from the grip of the Socialist agenda of the liberal left. It claims to seek a return to the country envisioned by our founders, one Christian nation under God, complete with trickle-down economic theory and tort reform. It is the idea of a Christian nation as envisioned by the founders that is perhaps the most dangerous offering Fox News has woven into its web, as it is a fraud being perpetrated on the American people. The fundamental flaw in their reasoning is made clear by the literary work The Godless Constitution by Isaac Kramnick and R. Laurence Moore, which explains why our founding fathers intentionally created a secular government, despite the Judeo-Christian leanings of the people. This reality appears to have been lost on the Tea Party movement despite their frequent proclamations as touters, supporters and experts of the ‘true’ Constitution as envisioned by our founders.
I do not mean to insinuate that all Tea Party supporters, or “Patriots” as they self identify, realize they are being subversive in their movement, as many are merely citizens that are frustrated by the partisan nature and dysfunction of our government. Nonetheless, it is important to realize that their energy is being used as a political tool for the conservative right. What is truly the seditious factor in the equation is the misinformation that Fox News puts forth, which then the Tea Party eagerly embraces as truth, often targeting progressivism. Fox has created a brilliantly subtle system in which their message can be disseminated. By creating a general distrust of academia as liberal and elitist, they are able to insulate themselves from independent and research-based inquiry. They report twisted and false fact from their “experts” and, at the same time, demonize the rest of the mainstream news as liberally biased as a way of discrediting them. With this, Fox has created a nearly impenetrable narrative in which it can safely espouse conservative doctrine without fear of losing its followers to critique of its message.
Ironically, it is the first amendment they so ardently attack as they strive for a Christian nation, which also provides to them a freedom of the press. Perhaps the most disturbing factor is the apparent lack of options to combat Fox News’ Tea Party agenda. I suppose our best form of defense is to continue to draw from as many news sources as possible, listen to as many opinions as possible then, choose carefully where you shop and whom it supports because in a free-market economy, apparently, a dollar is a vote.
