“We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant
facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive
values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge
the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is
afraid of its people.” ~ John F. Kennedy
Statistics reveal Americans are fed up with the national news media. The major networks are seeing a steady decline in viewership, print media is losing subscribers by the thousands and the disdain of mainstream media has hit an all time high. Many Americans feel that what they are hearing from the mainstream media is nothing more than regurgitated political correctness in the form of hardhitting “news.”
“A recent Pew Research Center survey found that 65 percent of Americans believe that the national news media have a negative effect on our country. According to a recent Gallup poll, six in ten Americans now have little or no confidence in the national media to report the news fully, accurately and fairly.”
A grammar school student by the name of Talha Wani wrote an opinion piece for the Express Tribune on the subject, “Can the Media be Trusted?”
He stated, “The media’s job is to represent the views and opinions of the masses, and inform and educate people regarding different points of views and opinions. The concept behind the media’s role is a simple one: To update society’s knowledge on the status of affairs through recent developments and events. Both the print and electronic media have a role to play in this regard. The most rudimentary ethics to follow in this endeavor are honesty and accurate reporting. However, sadly, honesty is the last thing to expect from this now complicated institution.
While the media has the ability to uphold the truth, it has, unfortunately, also been used as a tool of distortion and propaganda, and is often plagued with bias. It often acts as an avenue for profiteering rather than for accurate reporting or creating awareness among the public.”
I find it fascinating that a grammar school student sees the seriousness of the situation while those who sit in the comfortable confines of their ivory towers continue dictating to the American public what they should or should not believe. These media moguls don’t
have a clue that a revolt is taking place in this country. We are fed up and we are not going to take it anymore!
It wasn’t always that way.
During the early days of broadcast television, it was not uncommon to turn on the evening news at seven o’clock and watch one of the major networks tell the American people the ‘happenings’ of the day. For decades, many families ate their evening meal watching Walter Cronkite on CBS or the Huntley/Brinkley Report on NBC.
The favorite around our house was Walter Cronkite of CBS News. Because of his straightforward reporting, without mixing his own personal political views, he earned the nickname, “The most trusted man in America.” From 1962 to 1991, he reported on some of the most life-changing events in America. With a steadfast voice, he told us the “truth” about the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the death of Martin Luther King and the Vietnam War. Whenever the news broke, he was the one America tuned in to watch.
For decades, we depended on men like Cronkite to give it to us straight and pull no punches. We did not have the luxury of the internet, or the plethora of cable news outlets to get alternative opinions on the events of the day.
In those days, when someone like Walter Cronkite looked into the camera and said, “And that’s the way it is,” you felt like he was telling you the unvarnished truth.
After the death of Walter Cronkite in 2009, Cliff Kincaid, Director of the Accuracy in Media Center for Investigative Journalism, wrote an article in Accuracy in Media. He stated, “It is
wrong to speak ill of the dead. On the other hand, it is an insult to the intelligence of the American people to pretend that Walter Cronkite was the “voice of God” and “universally credible,” as Mara Liasson put it on Fox News Sunday. The terrible truth is that Walter
Cronkite symbolized liberal media bias and used that bias with disastrous consequences for our nation and the world.
We found out after his retirement that he was not only a liberal, which was evident from his broadcasts, but a “one-worlder.” In appearances before the World Federalist Association, which favors world government financed by global taxes, he called for the U.S. to renounce “some of its sovereignty” and pass a series of United Nations treaties-many of which are now being pushed in the Senate by President Barack Obama. Cronkite called for an “international Liberty Bell.”
I quote Kincaid’s article only to illustrate what many of us are now understanding with more clarity. The mainstream media is predominantly comprised of progressive liberals who want to shape the attitudes and opinions of the American public.
My purpose is not to smear or denigrate the good name of Walter Cronkite or anyone else who reported the news during those days. My goal is to simply point out that there was a time in our history when those who reported the news were trusted. Quite frankly, we did not have any idea of their political beliefs or motives. We just viewed the broadcast and print media as unbiased sources, free from personal opinion and ideology.
Remember, it was only a little over 40 years ago that two young reporters by the name of Woodward and Bernstein brought down the President of the United States. These two Washington Post reporters risked their own lives and reputations to give us the facts of the Watergate break-in and subsequent cover-up by the White House.
Americans need the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Instead, we are being force fed a steady stream of political correctness by the mainstream media that is facilitating the rhetoric of the progressive liberal agenda, and destroying this nation.
These are the things you shall do:
Speak each man the truth to his neighbor;
give judgment in your gates for
truth, justice, and peace.
~ Zechariah 8:16
The recent movie 
So while this story is just one more example of the bravery of our men and women in service, and is a testament to the courage and determination of the human spirit, there is another lesson that lies “below the surface”… and nine months before.
The motto of the U.S. Coast Guard is “semper paratus“, Latin for “always ready“.
A man was healed… A testimony was given… God was glorified…
Look folks… the message of the Gospel is a tough message. While yes, it is a message of love and hope in Christ, it is also a message of self-sacrifice, self-denial, and isolation (
Back a few years ago, a very popular television show saw the end of a successful 20-year run. Law & Order was a drama, often based on actual police and judicial cases, in which a crime was committed, followed by courtroom drama in the prosecution of the accused. The show was so popular, it produced an offshoot series — Law & Order: SVU.
In a nation built on the rule of law, it is unacceptable for those in authority to allow those laws to go unheeded, ignored, and disobeyed. Yet, in recent years, we have seen our laws be ignored time and again, both by criminals on the street, and powerful individuals in the halls of government. Whether it is private citizens breaking the law, or a President of the United States ignoring the law, both will lead to anarchy if left unchecked.
If we, the Church, can be a model of humility, integrity, and consistency, we can point people, not just to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, but be a shining example of the peace and blessing that come through submissive obedience. Often in the past, the church has abdicated its God-given responsibilities, taking us further down the road to governmental dependence. It is time for the body of Christ to once again be salt and light, and make a difference in a society that is flying blind. It is time for us to be an example of what a return to Godliness, law, and order looks like on a national scale.
After the past few years of fairly mild summers, this July began with extremely high temperatures, heating things up here in Chattanooga. This is true in the national arena as well, with emotional temperatures escalating due to senseless shootings, racial unrest, and general turmoil in America.
Our current social climate is much like Biblical times. When faced with the turmoil of his day, the prophet Habakkuk was told to “write the vision“. This was another way of saying “pen a new future for the nation”, even as Paul testified centuries later…
The content of that prophetic word was, “The just shall live by faith” (Habakkuk 2:4). Likewise, in the days of Jesus and the apostles, the nation writhed under the lash of a new world order led by the dominating international power of Rome, and local politicians who were cooperative surrogates to their overlords.
“Nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
Does some racism exist in our nation? Sadly, yes. However, to call America racist because of the actions of a minority of its citizens is simply wrong… misleading at best. It appears that when you are a politician, calling someone “racist” is far easier than logically explaining your position, or why you may disagree with someone. In my opinion, the misuse of the word “racist” is, in many cases, racist in and of itself. It is a word with significant meaning that is bandied about far too often and far too carelessly.
Words matter.
The Heart of Abba - Ron Phillips 