The Mass Media and Ron Paul

October 19, 2007
by Stewart Ogilby

Without question, honorable citizens prefer that:

They retain all of their own earnings without forced taxation
They not be forced to carry a national ID or identification papers
They and their children not be killed in questionable foreign wars
They neither subsidize nor participate in torture
They regain the right of the writ of habeas corpus
They enjoy a government limited by the US Constitution
They elect honest persons who will defend the US Constitution

As our media repeatedly characterize Dr. Paul as a "dark horse" or "fringe candidate" they deliberately perpetrate a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Indeed, in this case, McLuhan's dictum, "The medium is the message" rings true.

There was a time, before the invention of television, that newspapers alone constituted the media. Were things better in those days? Hardly. In an 1807 letter to John Norvell, Thomas Jefferson wrote:

"Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper. Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that polluted vehicle. The real extent of this state of misinformation is known only to those who are in situations to confront facts within their knowlege with the lies of the day. I really look with commiseration over the great body of my fellow citizens, who, reading newspapers, live & die in the belief that they have known something of what has been passing in the world in their time..."

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A respect for property rights and the adherence to First Amendment freedoms combine to thwart our inclination to control, censor, or otherwise infringe upon actions of the mass media. Should a special case be made for legal oversight pertaining to voting, presumably the bulwark of our democratic republic?

My feeling is that such an effort would prove to be futile and is definitely not worth the risk of expanding State control beyond the limits clearly defined by our Constitution.

We the People are going to have to take back our government and restore our Constitution without support from the mass media. Can it be done? Perhaps. It will not be easy.

We can begin by backing Dr. Paul.

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In the late 1970's Stewart Ogilby helped to place the Libertarian Party on the ballot the State of Ohio. He and two friends selected the initial slate of LP party candidates and in 1980 he ran for the Ohio State Senate from Columbus area's District #3. A 74 year old retiree in Sarasota, Florida, he manages two web sites, NewsWatch, and The Big Eye; both of which are strongly promoting Ron Paul's 2008 presidential campaign.