Between the runup to November's election and Saturday's shooting, I had read a lot of sometimes contemplative, often frustrated diaries and articles from fellow progressives who blame President Obama and the weakness of the Democrats for "not getting their messaging right." Although I admit there is some merit to all of us under the Democratic Big Tent being as organized message-wise as a herd of 300 cats, I can see a different problem.
It is why the November elections went the way they did; it is why the Arizona shootings happened; for gods' sakes, it is why our country has fallen so pitifully behind the rest of the Western world over the past 30 years.
Not to impugn Something the Dog Said's most excellent diary from earlier today, but I'm seeing a quite different pattern.
I see the pattern here: the unrefuted lie from a Democratic congressperson, probably scared shitless about the impending media storm that could sweep away her career at best or attract the ire of Tea Party constituents at worst; and the lie remaining unchallenged on a major cable network often referred to (whether correctly or not) as the "left-leaning" network despite even the New Republic's efforts--hell, even the valiant attempt by the subject of this non-controversy--to turn this lie on its head.
I see the pattern in a lone voice of reason among the many Republicans in the U.S. House and Senate, him/herself scared shitless enough to insist on remaining anonymous when, as Steve Singiser implies, Republican office-holders joining in the "let's bully the Democrats" fest say what they like without consequence or fear of having their names emblazoned in the cable screen's footer with an (R) after their names.
I see the lunacy of a madman who is given an open platform, despite the loss of all of his sponsors save an ethically questionable gold swindling company, because a handful of millionaire and billionaire media multiconglomerate owners think his his accusations of anything progressive needing to be eradicated is good for America.
I see what G2Geek sees. I see what LaFeminista sees. And yes, I do see the ugliness in the voices of those who would wage violence against their fellow Americans, as Something the Dog Said sees. But I also see the all-too-generous platform on which hateful lunatics are allowed to advocate for destroying us, and the companies who give it to them.
I remember being called a traitor, an un-American, and not worthy to exist as a human being, much less as a citizen of this country, because I did not support the war in Iraq or the administration that waged it. Now, under a different administration that, sometimes haltingly, wants to reverse the damage that this war, and that administration, had done to our country, I am called a socialist, an un-American, and not worthy to exist as a human being, much less a citizen of this country, because I support the current administration's efforts to fix things. All by the same people with the same megaphone, egging on my fellow citizens to hunt down liberals like me, destroy them, even kill them. Where does it end? How can we end it?
Some courageous and visible people with more influence and recognition have the platform to stand up to these people, but I fear that their valiant efforts may be a drop in the bucket of what we need to do to stand up to the media megamonolith.
How we do this specifically, I am not sure. Letters to the editor, to our congresspeople, and to the media outlets themselves are a good start, but often go unheard and unnoticed by the people at the top who need to be paying attention.
Boycotting sponsors has proven to be effective in dismantling Glenn Beck's support base from a consumer standpoint, but as we see today, thanks to the big pockets of Roger Ailes and Rupert Murdoch and the Koch Brothers, he's still got his show, his platform, his megaphone, and Goldmine.
Maybe we need to organize a massive protest not in Washington, DC, but in Times Square, NYC, to peacefully but loudly object to the mangling of truth and the dishonorable way in which our "mainstream" media--led in visibility and profitability by none other than FOX--has conducted itself. That way, their cameras can't ignore us when we're crying out for justice on their doorstep.
What I do know is this: we need to put our heads together as a community, and within our own communities throughout the country, to devise solutions to overcome the right-wing media madness and violence that's bringing down our country, and to take back the megaphone.