what does fox news want me to believe?

[datasuspect]

i've been confronted lately with the notion that the rw media (fox, cnn, what have you) WANT me to believe that religiosity is in the ascendancy in this country.

now i'm just playing into their hands.

i've been told this on more than one occasion.

this is curious to me, because i rely primarily on uncensored news sources from europe and independent media and watch msnbc for their documentaries. i don't watch fox news, i don't listen to rush or hannity.

am i going crazy here? can i no longer trust my senses? is what i see/have seen in this country since 2000 really not true? is there really not an overwhelming fundamentalist explosion in this country?

i do understand there are moderate religious people out there, but they aren't dominant. and most times they are liberal enough to (and often don't buy into the concept of a living god) take seriously.

still, they often seem the exception to the stomach-turning rule.

[Vincardog]

1. FAUX news wants you to believe whatever they are telling you to believe

at that point in time. The ideal FAUX news viewer has disengaged the critical portion of their brain and swallow their BU$HIT whole with out even trying to rationalize it.

[KoKo]

2. Why do you even watch Fox? They get their daily "Talking Points Memo"

from Rove and Falwell/Robinson write the "Religious Indoctrination" part of the daily "Talking Points."

Why would you allow them to tell you what to think? :shrug:

[datasuspect]

3. i didn't really articulate my post very well

but lately, i have been told that the recent explosion of fundamentalism in this country is what the rw media wants me to believe.

as i said in my post, i don't watch fox.

[KoKo]

8. Yes...but that's what "THEY" want you to believe. So, why believe it?

[Skittles]

4. "some people say"

can you believe those assholes acutually use those words - over and over, I might add - as their "sources". What f***ing morons Fox viewers must be - don't they realize the "some people" is actually FOX NEWS?

[Chipper Chat]

7. Michelle Malkin says that all the time...

"some people say" that dirt is purple, salads are bad for you, cancer is a wonderful thing, Dubya is a saint. "All this must be true because I, Michelle Malkin, say it is the truth, and some people (meaning me) say it so it is the gospel truth. The truth I tell you, and by the way liberals suck - believe me because I am Michelle Malkin the "some people say girl."

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

5. I'm a bit confused

with your post. Are you saying the rw media is saying that religioisity is on the rise, or that they want you to think that they are?

What I see is that a lot of people are very self centered and seem to be only concerned with what happens to them directly. The people with whom I come into contact don't seem to be rabid fundamentalist Christians, but often seem to be limited in what they know about or even care to know about. My boss doesn't like other countries, and has the quaint notion that our economic problems all stem from "giving those foreign countries all our money."

I have read some LTTE in the Arkansas Dem-Gazette that are rabidly hateful, and sometimes use scripture to 'justify' their opinion. I had the misfortune to meet up with a used car salesman who browbeat me by rapid fire quotations of scripture; he refused to listen to anything that didn't fit into his scheme of things. He also was more interested in putting me, a woman, down than anything else. He is also known to "talk Christian" to make a deal-and he's not above doing things that my husband (who used to work at the same place as a mechanic)says were shady.

[datasuspect]

6. to be honest

a few times around du, when i have brought up the topic of the rising fundamentalism/religiosity in the us, i have been told that this is what the rw media want me to believe. like it really isn't true.

i didn't really wrap my mind around this the first time, but now my jaw just drops.

this is a thought i would never have considered until now.

it's confusing to me too.

[KoKo]

9. "Hate is not a Family Value." A bumper sticker just seen on a "pick up

truck" here in NC.....

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

11. I saw same sticker here in AR

there's hope for us yet....

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

10. I don't think it is so

I don't see a huge increase in the number of people attending church, especially fundamentalist churches. What I do see is that fundamentalists are making more and more noise. In the last few years, "Christian" radio has infiltrated the lower end of the FM spectrum-I'm always finding their stations while looking for NPR when I'm traveling. I think their leaders are getting more air time now on networks.

Although I've read statistics that say mainline Protestant churches have been losing population to the evangelicals, but I don't know that there has been a big increase in people who were of other faiths or no faiths becoming evangelicals. I'd think if someone had some hard stats on this it would be a good thing to post. Then we'd know if the assertion about religiosity is true or false.

[Chipper Chat]

17. About the change in the FM radio stations...

The christians are getting it both ways. They have the funds to buy more wattage to blast their message while the dirt-poor NPR and local public service stations have been losing operating funds for years thanks to those same influential "christians."

[SmokingJacket]

12. This is a good question.

Since Faux wants you to believe it... I kinda think it might not be true.

BUT I have seen the growth of megachurches out in the suburbs, more religious billboards, etc.

Pity there's not a source I can trust on this topic. A comprehensive survey needs to be done.

Or not. I'm not sure how much it matters...

[sangh0]

13. Yes and No

I think that religiosity is rising in the US, but not to the extent that Fox would have you believe. I also believe that the increases in religiousity on the right have been met by an equally large increase in religiosity on the left.

I would also like to add that given our disagreements, I'm impressed that you are questioning your beliefs the way you are in this thread.

[datasuspect]

15. i'm not really questioning myself

as much as i'm marvelling at the disconnect i see in many places.

i know what i see.

[Rockerdem]

14. Rules

Rule one - dont watch Faux
Rule two - dont watch CNN (more insidious because of perceived neutrality)

Whores, one & all

[Chipper Chat]

18. I vomit when I watch CNN anymore

Zahn, Blitzer, et al, were so pro-Bush and anti-Kerry the past year. Just think - if they had been an honest counterbalance to Fox it might have been enough to turn the election.
CNN = Cable News Nuisance

[m berst]

16. both are true, I think

There is not a rise in the number of people who are active in fundamentalist churches and causes, but there definitely is a rise in hatred and intolerant behavior by those disposed to that under the guise of religion, and there is an increase in rhetoric coming from the leadership that wants you to believe that this increase in hateful activity and speech represents a broad public wave of sentiment.

So, yes, the Bush administration and the Dominionists want you to believe something that is false - that there is a huge sweeping mandate for their theocracy - there is not.

On the other hand, I think you are encountering the extremists who have been given license to act out in hateful and intolerant ways, and it is easy to think that they are part of a bigger movement.

Does that make sense? Great question.