George Orwell’s dystopian novel "1984" is required reading for many high school students.
Published in 1949 and set 35 years in the future, it tells a cautionary tale of government oppression. An all-seeing, all-knowing "Big Brother" keeps a watchful eye over humanity, ensuring individuality -- not to mention opposition -- to the all-powerful party is completely banned.
“The party told you to reject evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command,” Orwell writes.
That line has been thrust into a social media spotlight this week, no thanks to me, who only read the CliffsNotes back in the day.
That’s thanks to President Donald Trump, who uttered something eerily similar during his speech at the Veterans of Foreign Wars National Convention this week.
“What you’re seeing and what you’re reading is not what’s happening,” Trump said.
Now, as divided and dystopian as our society may seem at the moment -- it certainly pales in comparison to the future Orwell imagined. But that line unnerves me -- in no small part -- because it’s journalists like me who Trump appears to be discrediting.
Let me ask you a question: Where would you like your news to come from?
Since nobody is capable of single-handedly perceiving all the important things happening in the world, you really have three options, depending on where on the planet you live: local news, cable news, or some sort of state news agency. Social media bleeds into all three of those categories.
I would like to remind you that state media can be very dangerous. In places like North Korea and Laos, the party in power completely controls all messages the populace receives. There is no vetting, no fact-checking, and no dissent. A total monopoly over news is in direct violation of the First Amendment and is un-American at its core.
I would also like to remind you that cable news is not the same as local news. While many prominent cable networks openly embrace a political slant, local stations like 12 News strive to be unbiased. We are members of your community who work tirelessly to curate the stories that affect you. We do not have an agenda, we do not play favorites.
Thomas Jefferson once wrote: “Ideas should freely spread from one to another over the globe, for the moral and mutual instruction of man and the improvement of his condition.”
I agree wholeheartedly with Mr. Jefferson, and i will not reject my senses.