On February 27th, 1968 CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite, in his famous Vietnam commentary, said out loud to the American public, what was known for years by anti-war protestors, newsmen, politicians, and military experts: the Vietnam War was unwinnable, the justification for the war was false, and it was a waste of American lives and treasure.
There are two issues presently facing the American public that cries out for a brave Journalist to speak the truth to power: Global Climate Change and the Economy.
This is a personal moral test of Tom Brokaw, Scott Pelley, Brian Williams, Diane Sawyer, Wolf Blitzer, and all the other news executives and editors who water down the facts.
Who will be the first to be as responsible as Walter Cronkite?
More below...
When Walter Cronkite spoke out about the war, there were less than 29,000 American deaths. The war continued for another 6 years, creating another 29,000 American military deaths (not to mention the American wounded and civilian casualties).
The facts were obvious to anyone who objectively studied the War. Defense Secretary McNamara knew as early as 1964 that the war was not only unwinnable, but there was no good justification to keep fighting.
The blame for the continuation of the war can be placed squarely on the shoulders of American journalists – who knew the truth about the war, but fed the American public false reports of progress, and blocked the full exposition of the truth of the war, it’s causes, and results. Only Cronkite spoke up somewhat early – and even he was years late.
In 1966, after researching the history of the war, I went from being a gung-ho paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division to a Conscientious Objector. I quoted the findings of the Nuremberg Trials at my court martial: that soldiers have the right and duty to object to illegal and immoral wars. I was sentenced to a year in jail, but I felt I was doing my sworn duty to uphold and protect the constitution of the United States. Year after year, I saw American news sources acting more as cheerleaders for the war – rather than reporting the truth.
We are now facing a similar test of honesty for American journalists, on at least two major issues: Climate Change and National Economics.
Who will be the first of the major news anchors to offer a real, unvarnished, objective report on these two issues. The real blame for the public’s ignorance (and the resulting political inaction) regarding these two issues rests squarely on the shoulders of Tom Brokaw, Scott Pelley, Brian Williams, Diane Sawyer, Wolf Blitzer, and all the other executives and editors who water down the facts, in order to appear to conservatives to be balanced in their reporting (and appear neutral to their advertisers).
Do any of today’s news professionals have the moral courage to report the truth?
A serious and professional news person, who really considers themselves to be a journalist, would present the facts as they are, not politically balanced to appease politicians, advertisers, and Wall Street.
Global Climate Change - There is no scientific debate on the cause or effect of Global Climate Change, yet the major news outlets refuse to report on the issue based solely on scientific fact. Politicians who oppose acknowledging the threat of Climate Change and block efforts to address it, are being enabled by our American media. Our constitution protected the freedom of the press for a reason: to protect our citizens, by offering informed and accurate reporting. We do not have that now.
National Economics – There has been a debate since Herbert Hoover about how to bring our economy back from a recession or depression. Stimulus spending has always worked, and austerity measures have always failed. The revelation that the prestigious 2010 paper by Harvard economists Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff is a fraud, was not properly reported by the media.
That paper was the political and philosophical underpinning of the entire Republican economic plan. Reinhart and Rogoff’s paper was cited repeatedly by conservative economists, bankers and politicians from Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, Alan Simpson, and Erskine Bowles
But Thomas Herndon, a student in economics, discovered that Reinhart and Rogoff had egregious errors in their calculations, omitting basic data that was contrary to their assumptions. When the data is included, the conclusions that conservatives drew from the study, fell completely apart.
Today’s news professionals have to look in the mirror and ask themselves what they stand for. Is it for anything besides their own salary?
Who will be the first to take the Walter Cronkite challenge? Who will look directly at the camera and say, “Climate Change is real and stimulus spending boosts the short- and long-term economy. And opinions to the contrary are politically or financially motivated – or just wrong.”
Who will stand up for the truth and be a responsible journalist?
Americans need to hear from you.