I’ve linked before to John Ray’s monograph, but after reading this, I thought it might be a good idea to do so again.
I guess what irks me about the left is that they look at things in absolute terms, except those things which really should be viewed in perspective. The far right does the same, but what I would prefer to call the far left is really much larger. Hence, virtually everyone on the left becomes the same in my mind. They tolerate no dissent within the ranks. Anyone who doesn’t agree entirely is far-right. They allow for no middle ground.
One example of this is the Fox News Channel. They claim to be “fair and balanced.” I believe they are. They boast some tremendous talent on their payroll, some of whom are liberal, and some who are conservative. Some, like Mort Kondrake, are very balanced in their own right. What Fox News does differently is open real discussion rather than the simple arguing that goes on at other networks between their left and right commentators.
Fox news has first-rate people. Brit Hume, Mara Liasson, Juan Williams come to mind, and two of them are liberals.
Yet liberals slam Fox News as being conservative. It is a matter of perspective. If you view things from the far left, anything in the middle is far right. And this is the issue. The three major networks are all liberal in their views. ABC even admitted this in a memo recently. I don’t think there’s any argument that both CNN and MSNBC are as well. So, for people accustomed to news with a liberal slant, anything without it seems, well, conservative.
Dr. Ray has daily follow-ups on many issues regarding leftism. Today he talks about academia, one area that concerns me and our future. Or, take a look at my archive, or visit Cold Fury for another angle.