Nerve Endings Firing Away

Have you ever heard Fox News? I usually don’t [like to] shift to that channel for opinions and political commentary and if I ever do, I cannot bear to watch for more than 10-15 minutes. Although it’s consistently negative comments about the Democrats make for some hilarious viewing, the deep rooted conservatism comes off as a shock and makes you shake your head in disbelief. Bill O’Rilley’s open attack on liberal intellectuals is reflective of arrogance and unwillingness to resort to logical arguments. Opinions are clearly formed on emotional basis and anything said against their demigod George Bush is labeled as libel and unpatriotic. I remember watching some shows after 9/11 and almost all the hosts were totally in favor of throwing out all international students and openly declaring war against anyone who dares to question reckless reciprocal action. The belligerent tone of the channel was mistaken as genuine concern for hurt American sentiments and viewership rocketed.

But since then, things have cooled and people have realized that the international student and worker community makes America what is today and the nation has always been built by immigrants. The true American is the one who questions the actions of their leaders and dares to voice protest. Fox News however continues to be caught in a time warp; refusing to separate the state from the church and invoking God’s name to explain actions of its favorite president. They are up in arms whenever any liberal questions their methods but they fail to realize that they can air their conservative views only under the amendment that the liberals swear by.

However, Fox News is a success in news reporting, although the difficult times of uncertainly work to their favor. But since conservatism has a vociferous voice, shouldn’t the liberals have an equally powerful voice too? I heard that Al Gore is considering launching a television channel and already liberals are clamoring for a medium to vent their scattered opinions. Nonpartisan media is now merely yesterday’s dream; the media is run by conglomerates and is big-business. Political powers follow the big bucks and gradually influence opinions. The utopian idea of neutrality died the day Switzerland joined the UN.

The liberal class definitely possesses enough mental programming to fill channel content. Dean’s fiery campaign, success of Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11, and numerous liberal blogs prove that there is a market for such content. Most of the academic community around the world has a liberal attitude and opposing big-government has always gone well with the rebellious youth. A liberal channel which separates the truth from all the spurious mumbo-jumbo will let us all sift through the complexity and ask overarching questions, which almost no one does. It can make you think rationally without getting caught up in political rhetoric or excessive emotions.

Although it almost seems politically impractical and financially infeasible, I hope such a liberal channel sees the light of the day.