Golden Age Syndrome

Golden Age Syndrome is a horrible affliction that can affect millions of Americans. It is the belief that at some point in the past everything was much better and our current problems are caused by getting away from that ideal time and way of life. It's mostly seen in Republicans and social conservatives, but people of all political stripes (even Democrats and rarely Libertarians) can catch it. The symptoms include strong belief in mythologies that never happened, fervent denial of reality, defense of the imaginary, and in the final stages, a refusal to move forward. These symptoms can cause otherwise rational people to ignore any problems that existed within their ideal time, no matter how glaring they are. People from that time take on super human qualities and no contemporaries can hope to stack up. They then become so enamored that any solution to a problem that does not automatically recreate their ideal is ignored.

There are many variances of this disease, with the most common being caused by the "moral decay" strand. This is most usually seen in Social Conservatives and is typified by the belief that America's failing morals are causing all of the country's woes. They often point to some ill-defined time in the nation's past where everyone went to church and no one ever even considered doing anything wrong. This argument is usually coupled with the claim that the nation has turned away from God. Never mind that this time in America's history never existed. Many of the founders were deists, and prior to that if you believed in God (the same one) the wrong way you were burned at the stake. In fact, at the founding of the nation there were no drug laws and prostitution was perfectly legal. There was also slavery, war, disenfranchisement, rum running, riots, and any number of other things that are generally considered to be negatives that are conveniently ignored. The simple fact is that this magically wholesome time never actually existed.

The second most common variant is "hero worship" and is can contracted simultaneously with "moral decay", but that is not always the case. Reagan, FDR, and Kennedy are often the focus of this sickness. They are placed on a pedestal as some mythical creatures that in single strokes did inhumanly amazing things. Reality cannot get in the way of that vision, and the faults and wrongdoings of these men (and women) are simply misunderstood or excused because of all the amazing things that they did. When the hero was around everything in America was better because of them. Libertarians are most susceptible to the "founding" subspecies of this variant. We can start to believe that there was a time when the Constitution was followed to the letter and the founders were all honorable and brilliant men. While they may have been for the most part, they were not without (many) faults of their own. In fact, the ink on the Constitution hadn't finished drying before Hamilton and Washington began circumventing it. Hero Worship can be the deadliest of the Golden Age Syndromes because it is the one that most often leads to paralysis. Unless someone is a perfect replica of the hero, they will not get any support in what ever they do, no matter how much the afflicted agrees with them.

There are many other variants still like "unbiased press." Though they all may be different, the symptoms are usually the same. The only known cures is healthy skepticism, research, and caring friends. You should not be ashamed of this disease, and seek help if you think that you may be suffering from it. If you think that a friend may be suffering, it is your responsibility to help them, no matter how much they resist. Through hard work and caring, it may be possible to eradicate this disease from the country. Always remember, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.

The Myth of the Unbiased Press

There is an idea in modern America that the press is supposed to be unbiased and only report the straight facts. Republicans complain about organizations like MSNBC and the New York Times, while Democrats do the same with Fox News and AM radio. Both sides act as if the press was once a shining beacon of impartiality, which has only recently become "corrupted" by bias. This notion is simply untrue. Human beings are completely incapable of being totally objective, and always have been. We tend to tell our version of the story first and foremost, and tend to give more credence to the side that we agree with.

Even at the founding of the United States, the press was extremely partisan. Most, if not all, of the early publicans were either Federalist or Republican. The Federalist Papers were initially published through several newspapers sympathetic to their viewpoints. Early politicians often used various partisan newspapers to disparage and mock their rivals. Phrases like "frog-eating, man-eating, blooddrinking cannibals" were regularly used to describe the opposition party and its leaders. When scandals, such as the one involving Alexander Hamilton's mistress, came to light it sent both sides of the press into a frenzy. The Federalist newspapers did everything they could to minimize and distract from the scandal, while the Republican ones devoted most of their resources to exposing it and find more "dirt." Scandals involving Republicans produced predictably similar results.

If anything, the news media has become less partisan to cater to a very fickle subscriber base that only wants to hear sensationalist stories and things they agree with. Even though each member of the press has their own slant on a story, it runs a distant second to ratings and readership. That means if a sensationalist story breaks about "their guy" they are still going to pull out all of the stops to report on it. It also means that if the American people are largely in favor of something then the press will likely be as well. Nothing evidenced this more then the run up to the Iraq War. There was very little question of its wisdom in the press, even "liberal" standard bearers like the New York Times. It wasn't until popular opinion began to shift about the war that the press followed. At the end of the day, ratings matter more then anything, even to the members of the press with the largest ideological axes to grind.

It falls to the American people to decide for themselves, what they want to read, hear, and see from the news media. If a certain viewpoint that enough people want to hear is woefully under represented then the market will see that and someone will fill the void. We do not need government oversight in the form of a "Fairness Doctrine" or agency to make sure that every thing is "fair and balanced". Who would decide what is fair anyway? People regularly find reporting that they agree with to be unbiased, and everyone else to be slanted or not telling the whole story. The market can do a fine job of proving media for people of all viewpoints if it is allowed to. In fact, Fox News is the highest rated cable news network, and it caters to the segment of America that is the most vehement about the "Main Stream Media" being biased and not representing them. Remember, the Constitution promises us a free press; not an objective one.

On Tea Parties and Astro-Turfing

Congratulations MSNBC, you got something right, well at least partially. The current "Tea Party" phenomenon does indeed reek of Republican astro-turfing. This is yet another way that the Republican big-wigs are keeping their followers angry at someone else and not them. The party leaders and talking heads of AM radio want to keep their sheep from noticing that the very policies they supported very recently are the ones that they are outraged over now. As long as the focus stays on "them", the Republicans can continue business as usual. Republicans have realized that it is much easier (and more lucrative for them) to talk the talk as opposed to walking the walk.

What the parrots at MSNBC missed though is that there were actual grass roots tea party movements throughout the Bush presidency. The are still many libertarian and small government types that protest government excess and idiocy no matter what the party in power happens to be. They are the people that the Republicans were calling "kooks" while Bush was spending the United States into the poor house. They are the people the Republicans blamed for McCain's loss to Obama (in spite of the fact that if McCain had ALL of the third party/write in votes with his he still would have lost). They are also the people that will continue to stand against our run away government no matter what letter happens to follow the Presidents name.