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flatbus posted:What are the strengths and weaknesses of the right wing media machine and how can the weak points be exploited? One of the wisest moves the right wing ever did was create and foster the notion of left-leaning bias in the media. This is the perfect outlet for inevitable cognitive dissonance. I will explain briefly. Every conservative will inevitably realize the following two ideas: 1. As a conservative, I like conservative ideas/policies/politicians. 2. The latest headline shows that a particular conservative idea/policy/politician is flawed. These two ideas are clearly in conflict, at least slightly. Now, as rational creatures, we'd like to believe that item #2, the very clear evidence that the conservative idea is bad, will indicate that the person's feelings about the idea (item #1) were flawed. It would be easy for the individual to conclude that maybe the ideas just weren't as good as they initially thought. Maybe we can make them work by changing other things, or perhaps the circumstances were wrong. It's not a big concession. No big deal, right? But this rarely happens. Instead, they find a flaw in item #2. But how could that be? Well, clearly there is a massive liberal conspiracy throughout all of American media. Never mind the fact that you can't actually find any real evidence of bias. Never mind the fact that there are plenty of examples where the media was distinctly not biased for the left, such as when Romney was unanimously declared the winner of the first debate. It just has to be true! Part of the problem is that politics in this country is treated as a sport. Admitting that there is actual, factual evidence out there that would make your side appear as though it is not 100% in the right is like sacrificing yards. The attitude displayed in political discourse, from the water cooler to the White House, is nothing like what you would see from someone who was honestly trying to reach an accurate conclusion. It's not an intellectual exercise. It's a show. And this country loving loves it. I don't have any ideas on how to fix it, though. Sorry.
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Oct 17, 2012 20:20
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| # ¿ May 16, 2024 02:50 |
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