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Jim Hudson's avatar

Great post! I guess I don't so-much "blame" the media for the deep-seated division we have in the country these days as much as I blame those who own the media. As you pointed out, in the decades before CNN and all the other "new" news channels, I think our parents turned on the evening news (or read the morning paper) and saw stories that at least on the surface came across as objective and factual. I'm sure there were editorials and opinion pieces back then but the heavy-hitter anchors of the day...the Walter Cronkites... held some esteem and were trusted to provide "just the news" without the slanted commentary. Viewers and readers back then took the news as gospel.

I think it's a bit humorous that the quote: "with great power comes great responsibility" originated with Spider-Man of the Stan Lee comics. From Wikipedia: "...power cannot simply be enjoyed for its privileges alone but necessarily makes its holders morally responsible both for what they choose to do with it and for what they fail to do with it."

It seems so apropos when applied to a variety of scenarios. It would be great if those who own the various media outlets to think on that quote a bit...and more so from the "responsibility" perspective vs. the "power" perspective.

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