In the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union, many believed that the former totalitarian state would become more like the western democracies. A similar view was expressed when the Clinton Administration ended most restrictions on trade with China.
Those hopes have been clearly dashed. Even more disturbing, it is the United States that is changing, increasingly resembling in its economics and in the unethical conduct of far too many leading politicians, those two socialist giants.
Politics in America, as in all other nations, is a tough practice, with frequently vicious name-calling and occasionally underhanded practices. Never before, however, have the powers of the federal government been so openly deployed for partisan purposes. Never before has the use of outright lies been so accepted a practice.
There is a specific reason why this has occurred. In the past, the press has always acted as a safety valve when one side or the other broke the rules. The wrongdoers were exposed, and the abuses were curtailed. That safeguard has been abolished as the overwhelming majority of news, search engine and even entertainment outlets have openly and vehemently abandoned both bipartisanship and respect for accuracy or honesty.
The current crisis began during the Obama Administration. To a far greater measure than had ever occurred previously, the 44th president used the assets of the federal government to suppress and attack contrary views. The IRS assaulted the Tea Party. The Department of Justice attacked critics of the president. In what may be one of the most controversial programs ever initiated by a federal agency, the Federal Communications Commission attempted to commence an effort entitled “critical information needs” (known as CIN) involving Washington oversight of broadcasters and journalists throughout America. It would have placed government employees in the private internal conversations and meetings of journalists, media organizations, and even internet sites. The message was clear: you must agree with the Left or face the consequences. Fortunately, the attempt was defeated.
Lies that would have humiliated any other President were wholly ignored by the media. (Remember “If you like your doctor you can keep your doctor?”)
The flip side of harassing opponents of the Democratic Party leadership was in allowing that party’s leaders to violate the law and ethical practices with impunity. Hillary Clinton destroyed federal evidence, profited from the sale of uranium to Russia, and lied about Benghazi. She was given a free pass for practices that would have landed any other American in federal prison.
Groups supportive of the Left received a free pass. Antifa and Black Live Matter activists burned buildings, looted stores, took over police precincts, established “Autonomous Zones,” and assaulted innocent bystanders. Even as fires raged in the background, network reporters assured viewers that these were “peaceful protests.”
These practices did not reach its inappropriate and unlawful crescendo, however, until the election of 2016. What has now been completely proven to be an utterly false narrative was, with the assistance of biased members of the FBI, a former CIA head, and Department of Justice partisans, gleefully foisted on the public by the media. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Ca.) assured all that he had “incontrovertible evidence” of a link between Donald Trump and the Kremlin. When it became evident that Schiff clearly lied, and that officials of the FBI and the Department of Justice acted falsely, few press outlets called for their prosecution, or at least their public humiliation.
Those same media, political, and Democrat Party officials deluded the public in the 2020 election. The voters were assured that their candidate, Joe Biden, was a moderate who failed to campaign in the usual manner due to COVID concerns. It has become evident that mental health issues which should have disqualified his candidacy were being hidden. His administration’s policies are the most extreme in U.S. history. Voters thought they were getting an old-time, experienced centrist. What they got was an administration devoted to the principles of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Freed from the exposure an honest media would provide, the language of oppression is getting more severe. Parents who seek to stop the use of Leftist propaganda in schools are labelled “domestic terrorists.” Speakers not devoted to Leftist ideas are chased out of public forums, sometimes violently. White House officials openly mock reporters who ask probing questions.
Despite the unprecedented failures of the Biden Administration, the press continues its completely partisan stance of downplaying its overwhelming disasters at home and abroad.
Putin puts his opponents in jail. The Chinese Communist Party “disappears” dissidents. The U.S. media simply ignores facts, refuses to report the truth, and overlooks the abuse of federal power to harass Administration opponents. It may not be long until those more violent practices from the Kremlin and Beijing are employed here if current trends continue.
Illustration: Pixabay