It seems that every week there is a new story circulating about the shooting of a citizen by a police officer or an investigation into some politician’s past misconduct. More often than not, these stories lead to protests and calls for resignation of the people involved from the moment they go viral. People immediately rally around supposed injustice and racial inequality or complaints about the corrupt nature of politicians. There are sometimes riots and violence that occur within days of the initial crisis.
These reactions lead to more media coverage and a situation which the major media outlets love. People tend to forget that the media exists for the purpose of making its owners money. There is an incorrect notion that everything a major news outlet shows is truth. In a perfect world, media networks would tell their stories with all the facts and without bias. In reality, this is impossible and they are more concerned with getting more viewers, and thus money, than being factually accurate.
Quite often, well renowned reporters are caught in lies and can be found twisting facts to make them seem more impressive. I can think of more than one situation where a reporter for a major news network lied about military service or events that happened while covering a military operation. Every time, there is a brief outcry and after a week, it gets swept under the rug to be forgotten.
The first thing that needs to change in order to make our country a safer, more informed place to live is people need to realize the media will twist anything to get more views and responses. They don’t care about the kid who got shot in downtown Chicago, they care about how much air time they can get by showing his family and teachers talking about how good he was, and how long they can get people to protest so they can continue to cover the story.
The founding fathers of this country were very concerned as to the danger of the passions of the people. If you read the Federalist Papers, the first official commentary on the Constitution, you will find a great deal of writing dealing with factions and the danger of an unchecked majority or government. A faction is described as any body of people with a similar interest who oppresses the rights of the rest of the people to take care of that interest. To prevent this from happening, the founders placed a firm emphasis on the law, which does not get swept up in a passion or rage in response to issues of possible contention.
What the American people seem to forget every time there is an accused politician, police officer, or other citizen accused of a crime is that justice is a process that takes time. Justice is not immediately arresting the accused for murder after he shoots someone. It is not dragging him or her into the street and allowing him to be beaten or killed in retaliation for his alleged crime. It is not an announcement made by law enforcement officials as to the wrong nature of the action taken. Justice, according to the Constitution, requires an investigation and a trial to determine the facts and truth.
Most of the time an announcement is made that an investigation is being launched. The media always chalks this up to law enforcement officials ignoring what happened or trying to dodge questions. In reality, this is the proper procedure to bring about justice. Videos must be analyzed, bullets counted, witnesses interviewed, and any other possible evidence needs to be carefully examined. Only after this is finished can a charge be made.
The people of America today like to be the judge, jury and executioner in every story they see or read. They seem to forget that in this country you are innocent until proven guilty. The media portrays a certain picture of what happens and people react by convicting the accused before any proper evidence has been presented in a court of law. When it turns out that the accused is innocent, people are furious because based on what they have seen, the person looks guilty. Of course, this leads to more rioting and protest bringing in more media coverage and thus money.
Instead of only paying attention to one news source, people should get news from multiple outlets with different biases. Protests and riots before any verdicts and decisions have been made should also stop as it only breeds animosity and poor perception of what actually occurred. Similarly, people cannot be convicted by the media as they are now; it is unprofessional, unfair, and a violation of their Constitutional rights.
Last semester I attended a seminar made up of a group of about 10 very fine lawyers from my area. From them I gained one very important piece of knowledge that more people need to consider. In law, it can never be personal. When you make a case personal, your judgment is clouded, you make personal attacks, and you act unprofessionally in a professional setting. Instead, you must follow both sides of the case and not allow your personal bias to affect your judgment. The best lawyers have carefully considered both sides of the story and they can probably argue their opponent’s position better than he could himself. It is impossible to do so, however, if you never consider the other side of the story.
Amidst all the cries in our country that our election system is rigged and that people need to wake up and realize how corrupt our politicians are, or that police and law officials are out to kill us, the vast majority of people ignore the fact that the media is twisting people’s perspectives and making them see exactly what they want to see. But don’t take my word for it, because then you would be doing the very thing I am trying to get you to stop.
