I should really…

I should really start throwing out more posts soon..

I’ll bust one out by the end of the week!

Presidential Candidates and Media Censorship

First and foremost, the purpose of the Media is to be the “Watchdogs of Society.”  We can’t always be ever-vigilant and know what is going on at all times, so the Media solves this problem for us – or at least it’s supposed to.

The problem is, most media sources are owned by bigger companies.  These companies, in turn, act as “Gatekeepers.”  So let’s say Microsoft bought out CNN.  If Microsoft does something really fucked up, CNN cannot report on it because Microsoft is their parent company.  Nor can FOX or USA Today for that matter.  Because Microsoft can just pull advertising, causing the two to lose money.

In case you’re not aware, they make the majority of their money from advertising (otherwise Newspapers, etc would be a lot more expensive).

To what does this all equate?  Media Censorship.

Enter the real issue at hand:  Ron Paul’s candidacy.

I feel like the masses don’t even know that he’s running for president, or that he’s even doing well.  I was at work this morning, watching CNN report about Santorum dropping out (thank god) of the race.  It depresses me how quick they were to talk about Romney vs. Obama – especially since they made a point to post in the footnotes (in tiny text) that Ron Paul is still in the race.

This isn’t even the first time it’s happened.  Ralph Nader got almost no media coverage (because even bad PR can be good PR).  Hell, he was banned from the major political debates.

Why do they lack media attention?  Because they oppose the very corporations that own the media.

-I will stop ranting and get to the main point of my post:

I would absolutely love to work as a journalist after graduation, but what’s the point if I’m not even allowed to do my job?

(as I side note, if I made any factual errors, please correct me – I would love to be wrong about this)

Politics and Critical Thinking

So after doing all reading and no posting on my blog for months, I feel like I should contribute something.  I have been (sort of) following the recent events and the individuals associated with said events.

I will come right out and say that I don’t completely grasp everything politically.  It is a fault of my own, as my thoughts are almost always elsewhere.  I can list potential politicians, but I can’t shoot out facts left and right on why I (don’t) agree with them, etc. 

All I know is that I hate the two party system.  I feel that people pick a side, and stay with it.  They blindly follow the guys in red or the guys in blue – they don’t even consider that people can dress in green, purple, maroon, whatever.  “But if you vote Green, that’s one less vote for the Blues, than the Red’s will surely win!”  Well, if you (and everyone else) continue to think like that, yes.  Why not do some critical thinking (which I admit, I really need to do more).  What is your team REALLY going to do for you, for your country, for your race?  Instead of picking one of the two guys who will fuck shit up less, why not pick someone who will legitimately make it his(or her) priority to fix whatever needs to be fixed(or to not “fix” what isn’t “broken”)?

So, I have a handful of friends, or acquaintances, that I look up to politically.  Every time I read one of their posts, or sit down and have a discussion with them, my current ways of thinking are challenged.  I absolutely love it.  That being said, when I’m out of the loop on something, I tend to see their point on something and temporarily agree until I can the chance to investigate the matter myself; in which case, I try to find ways to challenge it.  I think the method is all well and good until I start to lack the time to research the idea/policy/whatever.  Their general idea starts to get ingrained in my head, and I continue to fall back on it, because I lack my own thoughts on the matter – and that is a very dangerous thing. 

Granted, I don’t do that sort of things with huge umbrella topics like gun control, etc; but I still do it on occasions, without even realizing it. Of course, I follow the opinions of those peers because they’ve proven to be well-versed, critical thinking, and all around reliable for information, etc.

I apologize if my thoughts made no sense to you.  I am very new to this sort of thing.  But if you have the time, I ask that you leave some comments – be as critical as you deem necessary. I don’t want this to be a mere diary, 

I should also note that my time is very limited these days. So if you have any readings to recommend, I will read them when I do get a chance, I just hope it is sooner rather than later.