The REAL “CRISIS” in our Country is NOT the Economy….It’s the MEDIA!
March 23rd, 2009
Unknown asked:
I caught the tail end of the Dave Ramsey Show on the radio yesterday and he was obviously discussing the economy but the part I tuned in on was when he told his listeners that if they want to help the economy, the best way is to “PRAY” PRAY for the Media” and “PRAY for those stock holders and politicians” because they are operating 100% out of FEAR! Like I said, I did not tune in to the entire show but I have a feeling I didn’t need to. He was dead on.
In my opinion, the real “crisis” (one of the favorite words most over used by our media), is the way that journalists, reporters, broadcasters, etc are allowed to perpetuate panic and perhaps even cause panic in our society. The coverage of the economic conditions has been just down right disgusting, irresponsible, and could be considered a form of psychological terrorism (if there is such a thing). They are allowed to speculate and editorialize to the point that instills such fear in people and create a global panic. The terrorism part may sound harsh but here is why I call it that: As a whole, people generally trust the media. They are seen as the source for information and facts about the world around us, but they abuse this responsibility and privilege. I read an interesting article yesterday about how a “Herd mentality rules in financial crisis” The theory on this, or I should say the study showed that “people are wired to follow the crowed when times are uncertain” The experiments they did substantiated findings that "When people are presented with a situation where they don’t have information or the information is ambiguous, we see activation of the amygdala and insula," And people begin to doubt their own judgment. Our brains are wired to accept a group opinion. One of the persons interviewed in this also cited that a heard mentality is an overreaction. (read more on that here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080930/lf_nm_life/us_financial_psychology;_ylt=AsgYyWl39s1fnvO1Ko7Y9pwDW7oF.
But the media is very good at creating situations that form heard mentalities. Then they write more stories that feed off the newly formed heard mentalities and it just spirals out of control form there. That is why I use the word terrorism. It is a deliberate thing they do and it is strictly for their own self interest and not in the interest of our economy OR our country! Not to mention the fact that the same damn articles are being written over and over again. How many versions of “ How much is $700 billion” are out there now or, “American’s are not buying the bailout” First of all, the word “bailout” was a media created word or lets call it a media-crity. (that’s my word). The Gov’t isn’t necessarily BAILING out Wall Street or Banks, etc…they are INVESTING, in order to keep people in jobs, and retirements funds from depleting and keep “rich people” in business so that all the other Americans can continue to have jobs! Now, it’s not the average American’s fault that they do not realize this or that they only see certain aspects of it. It is the MEDIA’S fault! They know exactly who to appeal to when they subtly try to make points that they feel will fire up people or instill fear and panic.
And of course, we react because we believe them! After all, we trust them. They are supposed to be our “most trusted source for news”
Our constitution allows and prides itself on free speech. However, just as slander and defamation are not tollerated, why should irresponsible reporting be allowed? It’s one thing in day to day conversations with people to speak your mind and speak of your fears, etc. but it’s another when it is your profession and you have a responsibility to a NATION! I think that if these CEO’s of these failed banks are being held accountable for the “crisis”, shouldn’t the media??
The thing to remember is that we were not put on this planet to follow the heard or make decisions souly based on what broadcasters, economists, politicians, or journalists think. No matter what they say…people will STILL continue to make money and there will STILL always be jobs and money circulating in the economy. You should not be ruled by fear as these people are perpetuating. Remember…THEY have jobs too and very high profile ones at that, so don’t you think they will do whatever they can to stand out from the last article or last commentator? Apparently they will, and at the expense of a nation!
I caught the tail end of the Dave Ramsey Show on the radio yesterday and he was obviously discussing the economy but the part I tuned in on was when he told his listeners that if they want to help the economy, the best way is to “PRAY” PRAY for the Media” and “PRAY for those stock holders and politicians” because they are operating 100% out of FEAR! Like I said, I did not tune in to the entire show but I have a feeling I didn’t need to. He was dead on.
In my opinion, the real “crisis” (one of the favorite words most over used by our media), is the way that journalists, reporters, broadcasters, etc are allowed to perpetuate panic and perhaps even cause panic in our society. The coverage of the economic conditions has been just down right disgusting, irresponsible, and could be considered a form of psychological terrorism (if there is such a thing). They are allowed to speculate and editorialize to the point that instills such fear in people and create a global panic. The terrorism part may sound harsh but here is why I call it that: As a whole, people generally trust the media. They are seen as the source for information and facts about the world around us, but they abuse this responsibility and privilege. I read an interesting article yesterday about how a “Herd mentality rules in financial crisis” The theory on this, or I should say the study showed that “people are wired to follow the crowed when times are uncertain” The experiments they did substantiated findings that "When people are presented with a situation where they don’t have information or the information is ambiguous, we see activation of the amygdala and insula," And people begin to doubt their own judgment. Our brains are wired to accept a group opinion. One of the persons interviewed in this also cited that a heard mentality is an overreaction. (read more on that here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080930/lf_nm_life/us_financial_psychology;_ylt=AsgYyWl39s1fnvO1Ko7Y9pwDW7oF.
But the media is very good at creating situations that form heard mentalities. Then they write more stories that feed off the newly formed heard mentalities and it just spirals out of control form there. That is why I use the word terrorism. It is a deliberate thing they do and it is strictly for their own self interest and not in the interest of our economy OR our country! Not to mention the fact that the same damn articles are being written over and over again. How many versions of “ How much is $700 billion” are out there now or, “American’s are not buying the bailout” First of all, the word “bailout” was a media created word or lets call it a media-crity. (that’s my word). The Gov’t isn’t necessarily BAILING out Wall Street or Banks, etc…they are INVESTING, in order to keep people in jobs, and retirements funds from depleting and keep “rich people” in business so that all the other Americans can continue to have jobs! Now, it’s not the average American’s fault that they do not realize this or that they only see certain aspects of it. It is the MEDIA’S fault! They know exactly who to appeal to when they subtly try to make points that they feel will fire up people or instill fear and panic.
And of course, we react because we believe them! After all, we trust them. They are supposed to be our “most trusted source for news”
Our constitution allows and prides itself on free speech. However, just as slander and defamation are not tollerated, why should irresponsible reporting be allowed? It’s one thing in day to day conversations with people to speak your mind and speak of your fears, etc. but it’s another when it is your profession and you have a responsibility to a NATION! I think that if these CEO’s of these failed banks are being held accountable for the “crisis”, shouldn’t the media??
The thing to remember is that we were not put on this planet to follow the heard or make decisions souly based on what broadcasters, economists, politicians, or journalists think. No matter what they say…people will STILL continue to make money and there will STILL always be jobs and money circulating in the economy. You should not be ruled by fear as these people are perpetuating. Remember…THEY have jobs too and very high profile ones at that, so don’t you think they will do whatever they can to stand out from the last article or last commentator? Apparently they will, and at the expense of a nation!