It is probably fair to say that Americans have lost faith in their elected leaders. The Government shutdown was emblematic of our current partisan divide: we cannot move forward because we cannot agree on where we should go. Without a compass, the United States is stuck in a mire of malaise.
There are certain facts that are indisputable. Our economic recovery is slow. Inequalities are rising. Politics are making things a lot worse. The constant bickering causes unease and the public is unsure if politics can be put to the side for the benefit of the country.
But there are a few individuals who profit from this 24/7 drama: the media - or perhaps the more aptly titled, "professional pundits," who never cease to be predictable, and never grow tired of hurling falsities.
As the Government shutdown continued into its void of senselessness, the cable news networks increased viewership and revenues. The partisan media took financial advantage of the shutdown and debt-ceiling crisis, while at the same time, exacerbating the problems that we face. We should not put the spotlight on those who favor conflict over compromise, i.e. Ted Cruz, et al. We absolutely cannot treat the tea-party as legitimate policy-makers.
Journalists who covered the shutdown attempted to describe a narrative of equal blame. The Democrats are unwilling to bend to the fiscally responsible minority party and the Republicans are unrealistically demanding the reversal of a major policy achievement by the President. False equivalency does not help the public stay informed. Let me explain.
False equivalence is a logical fallacy which describes a situation where there is a logical and apparent equivalence, but when in fact there is none. For those HBO fans that also happen to read my blog, Aaron Sorkin makes it a constant theme in his show: "Newsroom." At one point during the first season, the main character, Will McAvoy, gives an example:
"The news isn't biased toward the left or toward the right, it's biased
toward fairness. If the Republican congressional caucus were to walk
onto the floor of the House and offer a resolution saying the world is
flat, the next day's headlines would likely read: 'Democrats and
Republicans can't agree on shape of Earth...'"
Sorkin, through his character, was attempting to criticize the media's bias towards trying to appear fair and balanced at the expense of failing to fulfill their journalistic duties of keeping the public informed about the truth.
The shutdown was planned months in advance. The tea party did not hide their intentions at all. They have never lied about their desire to dismiss compromise and attack pragmatic legislators who are willing to vote with Democrats. As we speak, the tea party are running candidates against the "traitors," who voted to end the shutdown. Senators Lamar Alexander, Lindsey Graham, and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell all will have to survive a primary before facing a Democrat. Sarah Palin was not whispering about attacking squishy Republicans who would even think to deal with President Obama.
Gone are the days of a reliable media. The shutdown story was simple and the news should have covered it simply. We now have a faction in the Republican party who will do anything in their power to disrupt Government. They do not advocate for a limited government with more personal freedom; they want to pugnaciously fight the Democrats on every single issue for the sake of fighting with Democrats on every single issue.
Our country should not only place the blame on our leaders. We also need to admit that our media institutions are failing to perform their journalistic duties.
It is not going to be easy to move ahead. The partisan gap is still wider than ever. But, as Americans, we should expect more. And as Americans, we should do more. Let us hope that in 2014, we can elect candidates who are practical - Republican and Democrat. Let us pray that the media will help us discern which candidates those are. There has to be a Will McAvoy out there somewhere.
