Slashdot Mirror
Where Does America's Fear Come From?
An anonymous reader writes "While far from a dictatorship, the United States has employed a number of paranoid tactics that delegitimize its democracy. And the motivation for doing so is — fear. That seems to be a long way from 'So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is...fear itself: nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and of vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. And I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days.' Where is the U.S. heading?"
... Faux News
Fear give those in Power, control of the command person.
Too complicated to learn, english language is.
At the time of the Iraq war, Fox News and the government were inextricably linked. The head of Fox News was formerly an employee of Republican Presidents, and all down the chain from there the employees have personal links to Bush administration officials. The right wing has switched from political power to media power only because they lost the Presidency. When they regain the Presidency, Fox News and the politically bully pulpit will again be on the same page and working from the same playbook.
It'll be a bit different next time (in 2016 or 2020 or 2024 or whenever it is), since they appear to have created a monster they can't control. They spent so much time demonizing Democrats that a big chunk of the party thinks of it as the only thing they do, undermining their ability to cut even business-friendly deals, and cutting off their noses to spite their faces in trying to put ideologically-pure candidates in the top spot. Demographics, and the bloom fading from their rose (which was more a matter of being in the right place at the right time, rather than any actual penetration of their ideology), will gradually undercut that. So the next time there's a Republican President, Fox News will be helping them crank out whatever message they want. And it will probably continue to exemplify the "paranoid style".