As I write this, it”s Supreme Court Justice John Paul Steven”s last day on the job. I am struck by how this country and our media have changed since he was appointed in 1975 by Gerald Ford. The 90-year-old Stevens is a moderate Republican of his time, a time that includes his attending the baseball game in which Babe Ruth famously called his shot during game three of the 1932 World Series at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
Ford came to office, for those who don”t remember, as the result of an interesting sequence of events. President Richard Nixon, considered very conservative, instituted wage and price controls in a futile attempt to control raging inflation caused by surging oil prices after OPEC”s embargo. Ford”s solution soon followed; the hilarious “WIN!” button (for Whip Inflation Now!). The media has since allowed the right wing to perpetuate the myth that this inflation was the fault of Jimmy Carter, who came to office at the peak of the inflation, years later; truth be damned.
That Nixon was later forced to resign in disgrace is not the topic here, nor is the fact that earlier, his original vice president, Spiro Agnew, was also forced to resign for taking $268,000 in bribes. Nixon selected Ford as Agnew”s replacement, a calming choice as Ford”s track record as a solid, honest and decent, conservative Republican was beyond question. He then appointed another solid, honest, conservative Republican; John Stevens. Why is this of interest? Because in today”s America, Stevens is now considered the stalwart of the liberal wing! Stevens has not changed but America and the Supreme Court certainly have.
In his 1985 Inaugural Address, Ronald Reagan said, “We seek the total elimination one day of nuclear weapons from the face of the Earth.” He settled for a 50-percent reduction. Obama was recently accused by Palin (an expert on nukes since she saw a photo of one) of leaving us defenseless for attempting to bring our arsenal down 30 percent to only 1,550 nukes. The media dutifully aired her smear. He”d be called a communist today for attempting Nixonian wage and price controls; heck, he”s repeatedly branded as such in the media without any factual basis already.
The media has devolved too. In the old days, investigative reporters would bring a story to their editor, who would demand the facts be checked before the story ran, either in print or on the air. Only after confirmation from other sources would the story break. Now, the only thing that matters is the scoop, getting the story out before the competition. No need to check the facts, just get it out there! Accuracy and facts no longer concern the media, the lack of both are no longer allowed to interfere with a sensational story that will boost the ratings. Not long ago a rally was held, but the crowd was smaller than the network sponsoring the rally wanted to show their audience. No problem! They simply showed footage of a rally from the previous summer when the crowd was several times larger! Dishonest and misleading? Sure, but it looked great on Glenn Beck”s program!
There was a time when a network had an entertainment division to generate profits and a separate news department that was a public service. It would be a plus if they broke even but the focus was on being the best news service they could be. Sadly, that”s now a bygone era and we are all poorer for it. Disgraced politicians are given unlimited airtime to repeatedly make self-serving statements with no basis in fact. They”re allowed to go unchallenged by the reporter doing the interview. The public is often misled and misinformed but as long as the ratings are up the boss is happy; truth be damned. Imagine how an honorable, decent conservative like Stevens feels about his country at a time like this. He”s spent a long lifetime serving this nation honorably, hoping to see it improve, not decline; we owe him better.
Lowell Grant is a weekly columnist for the Record-Bee. E-mail him at c21vintage@aol.com.
