The Rule Of Reason: From Jefferson To Gore

[RestoreGore]

"Shake off all the fears and servile prejudices under which weak minds are servilely crouched. Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call to her tribunal every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear."

Thomas Jefferson to Peter Carr, 1787. ME 6:258 Papers 12:15

The above words spoken by the greatest American statesman, Thomas Jefferson, are very important words regarding American Democracy today. And as Mr. Gore so aptly and eloquently illustrated in his speeches in January 2006 and October 2005, they are words that have slowly been eroded in the ever present atmosphere of government/corporate ownership and manipulation of our airwaves, our newspapers, and our thoughts. This proliferation of corporate ownership (used to send out propaganda messages to the public ever so subtly while freezing out free thought and important information essential to sustaining true free and balanced Democratic thought not only in the marketplace but in our communities,) has also spawned a society more concerned with distractions for entertainment rather than the preservation of our Democracy.

Even today, we see that a vast number of Americans have been brainwashed by subliminal suggestion to think that anything they see on TV has to be true. They think the government would never do anything to hurt or lie to them and that no matter how many elections are stolen that the process is still fair and sound. And as a result of this blind trust and in many cases fear brought on by this propaganda they do not then take it upon themselves to research, to read, to analyze, and to then think with their own reason to form their own opinions. These are the exact types of people George W. Bush and his Neocons look to target, and unfortunately to the detriment of this Democratic Republic they have to date been successful. And to be honest this has been going on for decades.

There have also been many scientific studies done over the years on the affects of television viewing amongst the masses. Those who are involved in the political end of it know about these studies as well and that television is a medium that can be manipulated to give the desired effect regarding propaganda. They then use it well, and their mantra is if you control the media you control the masses. And to a great extent it is true. But this is not being governed by the Rule of Reason, this is being governed by people the likes of characters in a George Orwell novel. And it has not only eroded colorful and passionate political discourse in this country as well as truth, it has eroded the very Democratic Republic Jefferson and the Founding Fathers so passionately envisioned all those years ago.

The Rule of Reason was also the guidepost used by our Founding Fathers as they searched for the freedom they did not know under King George III. They had then come from an aristocracy, a government ruled not by reason but by divine right. And it was this rule by divine right, the presupposition that wealth and absolute power trumped reasonable free thinking men (and most certainly women) that prompted these seekers of truth and freedom to birth the United States of America.

And now in this age of technology those who hold absolute power have so many more mediums with which to exert that control besides the written word. In one of his speeches regarding media, Al Gore spoke of "digital brown shirts." This phrase seems to have ruffled the feathers of some at the time, but I believe it is accurate. For there is no better example in my opinion of a modern digital brown shirt than Clear Channel Communications which has been in the pocket of the Bush administration as it slowly gains more and more control over the airwaves.

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 which was signed into law by President Bill Clinton was the act that deregulated this industry. I believe President Clinton signed this bill (passed by a Republican Congress) because he believed it would foster competition in the marketplace. Unfortunately, what it has prompted is a takeover by the stronger over the weaker in a media form of Social Darwinism that has now left Clear Channel as the predominant voice on radio with ownership of over 1200 stations in the United States alone, not counting it's television stations and other "entertainment" genres. And their relationship to Bush clearly indicates that their policies are reflective of his policies.

Clear Channel has also been behind "pro war rallies" and anti-artist (The Dixie Chicks as an example) rallies in the hopes of punishing dissenters and those who dare to say anything negative about Bush. Clearly the money behind them and the political ties they have to Bush have guided such decisions as well as their constant attempt to gain more power in this market. Is this how media should operate in a Democratic society ruled by reason? I think not. It doesn't stop with radio, as we seen that FOX carries this policy as well fully on their television station. Also, from Bill Maher, to Howard Stern, to Helen Thomas, to Dan Rather, we have seen a sort of "purging" of those who dared to question Bush's credentials and or policies. Coincidence? Again, I think not.

Of course, this is not the only example of undue influence and corporate cronyism encroaching on free thought in the marketplace. And these misleading sound bites and lies to skew political discourse have now made their way into stifling journalists in Iraq as well as others who dare to speak truth. Therefore, while some may not believe in such "digital brown shirts," they are real, and they are eroding free expression in our marketplace, which then erodes free and balanced political discourse which lends to the healthy Democratic exchanges we should expect to have in this country with the rule of reason trumping aristocratic absolute power based on wealth.

So in closing, I will once again quote Thomas Jefferson, whose perspective on a free press is one we should now be using as a model for expression.

"The most effectual engines for are the public papers... government always a kind of standing army of newswriters who, without any regard to truth or to what should be like truth, and put into the papers whatever might serve the ministers. This suffices with the mass of the people who have no means of distinguishing the false from the true paragraphs of a newspaper."

--Thomas Jefferson to G. K. van Hogendorp, Oct. 13, 1785. (*) ME 5:181, Papers 8:632

No matter what medium we wish to use to gather information in this modern age be it the written word in newspapers, blogs, or watching it unfold on our televisions or computers, the true test of a real Democracy is allowing the truth to be told without bias and in an atmosphere that welcomes all men and women whatever their circumstances to have a voice in it. We don't have that now, and that should concern all Americans who claim to believe in the cause of our Founding Fathers in envisioning that more perfect union. Thankfully, we still have statesmen on our side now willing to speak out regarding that vision who are passionate about the people having a voice in their media to move us towards that goal.

Thank you once again, Mr. Gore, and thank you for giving us CURRENT TV.