I have a journalism degree from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, but I refuse to use the term “journalist” to describe what I do. Why? It’s my personal protest against the abominable, reckless, flesh-gouging “journalism” practiced by secular media in our country.
That’s why, more than a decade ago, I swore I’d never write for secular media again and devoted myself to writing solely for Catholic media even though it meant a cut in pay and circulation. I used to freelance for various secular media and in particular, for a major Milwaukee metropolitan newspaper. They took my work readily and the editors treated me well. But far, far too often, I saw how a straightforward, non-partisan, informative article was changed into propaganda simply by switching a strategic word here and there. Story ideas that I pitched were turned down as “not workable”, and three weeks later the story would appear in the paper, written by one of their own staff – who likely had a more “workable” liberal slant. Nope I am not a journalist. At least not that kind of journalist.
Before I tick too many people off, let me say that there are fine, balanced journalists out there. I think especially of my journalist brother-in-law, whom I love dearly and to whom I’ve always felt a special connection. He’s a good family man and ardent Catholic who works for secular media and does indeed practice his moral convictions in the workplace. His courage and fortitude amaze me. You go, bro. I’m sure there are others out there. Somewhere.
But as the election draws near, I’m becoming more and more angry, more and more alarmed, and more and more disappointed in the secular media. That truth is not being told. The facts are not being brought forward. The balance is being weighted. What the people of this country are receiving is skewed information and propagandist interpretations of an agenda that threatens large-scale corruption in government, in business, in the very patchwork of our lives. It’s enough to bring my sailor-Dad’s language to the tip of my tongue.
This is not what the founding journalists of this country intended. At the time of the ratification of the Bill of Rights in 1791, newspapers had become a means of informing the public about matters important to securing the freedom and integrity of the United States of America. One nation, under God. Under God. There is no Godliness in today’s secular media. In fact, it’s become amoral and dangerous.
What’s the solution?
Stop supporting secular media that continually seek to pull the wool over the American people’s eyes. They are wolves in sheep clothing, and I assure you, they have plenty of wool to pull.
Start educating yourselves, your family, your friends. Know the real issues. Seek out the truth. Be informed. Scrape that wool away from your eyes.
Support Catholic media and, if you can find any, reliable secular media. If we stop supporting them, they’ll stop shamming us. I sometimes wonder if it’s up to the religious media – yup, maybe even the Jewish, and Protestant ones – to take up the mission of our country’s founding journalists to be the watchdogs of our governmental, educational, and civil agencies and to accurately inform the public.
Spread the word. Most people passively soak up whatever the secular media feeds them. They don’t know the wool is over their eyes; it’s been there for so long that it feels quite comfortable by now. Few understand that the media, more than any other entity, influences the governance, policies, prosperity, and integrity of our nation.
Finally, pray. Pray, pray, pray. What the prophet Jeremiah said to the Israelites is true for us today, now, in this moment during which the fate of our country soon will be detemined:
Promote the welfare of the city to which I have exiled you; pray for it to the Lord, for upon its welfare depends your own. (Jer 29:7)
This calamity can be overturned, but it will take great effort, courage, sacrifice, and endurance on our part. Who knows. Maybe someday I, and many others, will be able to call ourselves journalists again.
