It might seem crazy, but many of my views are more in line with the Libertarian ideal than the Republican ideal. Basically, what I agree with, is the idea that the FEDERAL government needs to "STAY THE HECK OUT OF MY LIFE!!!!!!"
As I have aged in my viewpoints, hopefully like a good wine (yes, I realize the irony of this comment), I realize more and more how much we are affected by our surroundings. I always thought that I was an out and out republican - I am glad it was that side of things with which I was surrounded - but now I see that this was in large part because of what I always heard. Now, I realize that the very existence of the 'Republican and Democrat only' government creates a situation where we as civilians become subservient to the politicians' every whim - this almost always leads to higher taxes and policies that generally pander to emotionalism as per 'the mob'. The way to give power back to 'the people' would be to destroy this two-party system. Then we could actually choose whom we would prefer for political office.
The important thing is that we as Americans think for ourselves, and do not let anyone in any position brainwash us. This can happen via the media, teachers, parents, the pastorate, and many other positions, some of which are often trustworthy otherwise (personally, I think that the media and public school English and Social Studies teachers can rarely be considered trustworthy, but you get the idea).
Lauren and I have been loaned a book called Myths, Lies, and Dowright Stupidity, by John Stossel (former anchor on ABC's 20/20), and it is a wonderful resource for many things ridiculous and commonly misconceived. There are a few passages in which I believe the author has been misinformed, but by and large, it is a fascinating insight into the gullibility of our fellow Americans. The following is one excerpt, which will be succeeded by a few more of my favorites in the near future.
MYTH: 'Road rage' is an epidemic!
TRUTH: It's not.
The inventor of the term 'road rage' is unknown, but he or she has a lot to answer for. Not as much as the media does, though. In 1997, the Amercian Automobile Association Traffic Safety foundation issued a report on aggressive driving. Newsweek said we were being "driven to destruction," Stone Phillips on NBC said it was "a bigger problem than ever," and on ABC my colleague Barbara Walters said "the trend is frightening."
Others were scratching their heads. They didn't see what the media did. Robert Lichter, president of the Center for Media and Public Affairs at George Mason University, which studies media coverage, told me: "If road rage is something that's increasing, we should have more fatalities on the road. There should be more reports of reckless driving. But these things are going down."
So what was the evidence for all these stories? I went to the AAA Foundation, and confronted their chief spokeswoman about their claim that road rage had increased by 51%.
STEPHANIE FAUL: That's what is appeared to look like from our report. That's all I can tell you. We saw an increase in reported cases.
STOSSEL: Reported in the press?
FAUL: Yes, reported in the press.
STOSSEL: It might be that reporters just started liking the alliteration, road rage?
FAUL: Well, also they like the idea of violent death by strangers! It's a very common topic in the news reports.
STOSSEL: [quoting from her press release] "Reached epidemic proportions. A bigger problem than ever." Does the study justify that?
FAUL: Well, yes and no.
STOSSEL: 'A neglected epidemic.'
FAUL: Yeah, that's a-that's a bit strong.
STOSSEL: The impression from the reporting is that there's greater danger out there.
FAUL: Yes. Because that's what seels papers, of course. I mean, you're in the media. You know that if you get people excited about an issue, that's what makes it appealing as a topic.
Get out the shovel! (Stossel often uses this phrase to refer to digging up myths, lies and downright stupidity) This is circular logic: The report was based on MEDIA mentions of aggressive driving. We in the media loved the catchy phrase 'road rage' so much, we kept doing stories on it.
Robert Lichter suggested it all got started this way: "People were telling at each other in their cars and making obscene gestures and even getting out of the car for years. Journalists just found a term for it. So last year, you went home and said, 'Somebody yelled at me from his car.' This year, you go home and say, 'I was a victim of road rage.' "
Then the AAA writes a report based on the spurt of stories - and new headlines are born. Media incest!
Once the media had a catchy phrase for it, road rage became an 'epidemic.'
