A footnote on Trump’s comment about the media: “True enemy of the People.” All of us are aware of the tension or even hostility between the mainstream media and President Trump. The problem with the media is, however, not a new one, and it is certainly not one that originated after the 2016 election.
Granted that the President’s mode of expression is particularly direct, he is neither the first person to accuse the media of spreading propaganda, nor are his comments necessarily based on conservative views. Liberals and progressives who accuse Trump of dictatorially undermining the mainstream media are either being disingenuous or they are dreadfully ignorant of their own literary tradition.
Consider, for example, the comments of the far left-wing author Noam Chomsky. In referring to the mainstream media he writes: “Pick the topic you like: the Middle East, international terrorism, Central America, whatever it is–the picture of the world that’s presented to the public has only the remotest relation to reality. The truth of the matter is buried under edifice after edifice of lies upon lies. It’s all been a marvelous success from the point of view in deterring the threat of democracy…” (Noam Chomsky, Media Control: The Spectacular Achievements of Propaganda, 1991).
According to Professor Chomsky, the media disseminates propaganda in order to deter “the threat of democracy!”
According to President Trump, the media is the “true enemy of the people”. It is difficult to imagine two people whose political ideas differ more than those of Chomsky and Trump, and yet on the issue of the media, they agree. Criticism of the media is not a liberal or conservative issue, and it should not be a democratic or republican issue. The truth of the matter is this: The media has ceased to serve the interest of a free people who want reliable information in order to participate in the political process.
Jack Brush is a Villager and a frequent contributor to Villages-News.com.
