The ritual becomes a farce..
Dr. Robert Sobel, Associate Professor of History at Hofstra University says that the British created a civil-service job in 1803 for a man to stand on the Cliffs of Dover with a spyglass. He was supposed to ring a bell if he saw Napoleon coming. The job was abolished in 1945.
Finally, if it goes on long enough, the farce destroys mission.
This is the story of our American media.
Once upon a time, "fairness" became the mission.
Then the fairness mission became the "Balance" ritual.
Then the balance ritual became the "Both Sides" farce.
And now the "Both Sides" farce has destroyed the media's original mission.
From "Whiteout Conditions" by the New Pornographers:
ReplyDeleteOnly want to get to work
But every morning I'm too sick to drive
Suffering whiteout conditions
Forget the mission, just get out alive
Only want to glean the purpose
Only to scratch the surface, raise the plow
Suffering whiteout conditions
Forget your mission, just get out somehow
-Doug in Sugar Pine