Nonsense

The media has been known for stirring things up among many known people’s lives. They print, and show on television assumptions that turn into rumors and are sometimes false. These rumors can raise questions of the people who read or watch this news. Other known people who might have an opinion about the issue can also sway the people’s opinions as well.

            I do not recall exactly when, but there has been an issue with President Obama’s citizenship. There were a lot of questions that came about and the President tried to ignore them. A well know person, like Donald Trump, brought about questions and made an impact on the opinions of some of the American people.

            Some of the people did not think about the fact that you cannot run for presidency if you are not a United States citizen. They also failed to think that by the time the election was over, there was probably some investigation that took place to ensure that all the candidates met the criteria of running. President Obama made it through the elections, so there is a greater possibility that he also met the criteria to run. It kind of makes you wonder where everyone’s common sense went or if this issue was brought up because of other prejudices.

            The media did not help things when they would write or show on the television the topic of President Obama’s citizenship. They paid a lot of attention to the issue and also used words to try to persuade the people that what they said is true. Donald Trump also played a big role in trying to persuade the people that these rumors were true. He made it an even bigger issue.

            In the Antelope Valley Newspaper, April 28, 2011, President Obama put his long form birth certificate out for the media to show the people who had their doubts, that he is in fact a United States Citizen. He has put a short form out for the media before to show proof of his citizenship. Donald Trump raised the questions of if it was real. This put more doubt into the people’s minds which led to the long form of the birth certificate. The media was used by the President to clear his name. This may not clear the doubt from all the doubters’ minds, but it does show proof for those who will take the birth certificate as proof.        

            Politics uses the media all the time to accuse one of this or that, to persuade the people into going against one side. We see it all the time during election seasons on the television especially. There is name calling and all sorts of nonsense. We see it in the commercials where they show one candidate doing something the American people would not agree with and play with words to make them think the other candidate wouldn’t do it to gain votes.

            The citizenship issue is a good example of how the media affects people’s opinions on political issues. It also shows how the media can be used to raise questions, to make an issue, or to voice an opinion. By using another known name that has an opinion, the people are more likely to listen, even if it is nonsense.

Is a Little More Reliable?

Most people do know about major catastrophe’s that happen in the world without looking at the newspaper, magazine, news on the internet, or on the television. Most of the time this is because people talk to one another. Someone read, watched, or heard from someone who read or watched the news. Whether it is in the doctor’s office, work, school, metro, or just talking to a family member or friend, word gets around. I can go without reading or watching something and know just about all the details of what was shown on television or what was printed, by talking to my mom, dad, or neighbors. One doesn’t have to go too far or try too hard to find out information. Now, whether this information is correct or if all the information was given is something we sometimes never find out.

            There are so many conspiracy theories about 9/11. I watch a lot of Discovery channel and National Geographic. Just a few days ago, there was a show where “truthers” were saying that the twin towers were set up for demolition. There was another side trying to prove that this was not possible. Throughout the whole show they went back and forth and neither side proved a thing. Without the proof, what do we believe? Most people will make their decisions on the questions put into their heads by either side or might see the experiments given in the show as proof to counter the “truthers”. I cannot say I take any side. I wasn’t there, but the information I have is what was given to me by our local media. We may never know the details about what actually happened.

            To find more information than what is in the media about anything, we have to do a lot of research. There are sites we can go to if we want to find out what other people have to say about the event, but we also have to consider if it is just an opinion or is what they are saying the truth. What is left out? Also we have to consider where the information came from and who their sources were.

            Unless something is shown, for proof that the event actually happened a certain way, everything else is what we make the information we receive into or what they want us to believe. Unless proven, it is just “he said, she said”. Most of the time, everything rolls down hill that way. The information comes from someone all the way down to the last person who hears it. For those of us who has played the game as a child, where you whisper in the ear of the person beside you, and that whisper goes around a circle of people, the last person says it aloud and it is rarely what was said to begin with. I think we should, if we want to know something, try to find out ourselves. If not, I think the news and newspaper are more accurate ways of obtaining information then being at the bottom of the hill, where more is left out than what our local media leaves out.

Freedoms

I have witnessed many conversations where the topic was on some kind of freedom that we do not have enough of, we are supposed to have that we do not, or on not having the freedom from kids such as young adults, teenagers, and pre-teens. I don't think it matters how much freedom we do have, most people will always have something to complain about. We have a lot more freedom that we take for granted than people in other countries. I never thought about how much more freedom we have and how much freedom others do not have like being free to be unique.

A lot of newspaper articles, magazine articles, and what I have seen on the news in the past, have been on freedom of speech. This surprises me because we are free to say what we want, to who we want, but there are also boundaries that some people should think twice about crossing.

Another freedom people talk about a lot out where I live is the freedom to do whatever you want to on your land. I use to be a person to think, "well if it's your land, you should be able to do whatever you want with it." Then I was enlightened by a situation where some neigbors of mine had the county come by and told them they needed to clean up their yard. I always saw the mess in their yard, but didn't think much of it. It wasn't my yard. Well, I also didn't think of what may be making nests back there, with diseases, or teeth that can bite so close to my yard, where my kids play.

Also I did not understand among a lot of people, why people cannot build whatever they want to on their land. This was explained to me by a contractor who was adding an addition to my house. He explained that if someone does not know what their doing, they can build something wrong, and someone can get hurt, if an accident occurs. Easy, but I did not think about that. Now I understand why we do not have the freedom to do whatever we want to with our land. It makes sense. It is a way of ensuring safety, that some people do not think about, like me or my neighbors.

When I was a teenager, I use to complain about getting my backpack searched and use to think the NARCs, the security people, were harrassing me at school. I dressed the part, and hung out with the wrong crowd, got in a few fights, and got kicked out the classroom quite a bit. I had no problem with the way I dressed or the people I hung out with. As an adult, and now with kids of my own where one will be in highschool in two years, I understand why my backpack was being searched and why the NARCs were always on me. I hung out with a crowd that were always getting suspended for having contraband or something your not supposed to bring to school. For safety reasons, my bag, as well as theirs were searched. I was not the teacher's pet, so I understand now why the NARCs were always on me. I am an adult now and think I was just ridiculous to complain about not having these freedoms as a teenager, but when I was a teenager as much freedom as possible was fought for, even if it was ridiculous.