Bias

I just read about the shelving of a glossy, monthly publication put out by the U.S. state department. The publication, Hi Magazine, was meant to influence the Arab world so that it would look more favorably on America. Its shelving obviously means that it failed in its mission of propagandize to the Arab world.

What came to mind as I read about this magazine's demise is the idea of bias. I was wondering whether this is an example of conservative bias. Is it conservative bias that did it in? After all it was put out by a conservative administration, anxious to gloss over its rock bottom image. Maybe bias is not the right word to use to explain its demise. But one definition of bias is the idea of being misleading. Another is the idea of something being warped. Why this magazine failed is because it appeared to be slanted and dishonest. The Arab world saw through its bias and ideology, finding it misleading and warped.

Conservative bias is what did in this magazine. Liberals never would have attempted this kind of bias. Liberal bias is more open faced and up front in comparison to conservative bias. Conservative bias in this case presented a whitewash and the Arab world saw it for what it was.

There is something sad about this publication, with its conservative viewpoint. It is sad that it was even considered necessary to publish such a glossy propaganda piece. There was a time when America didn't need this kind of sleazy self-promotion. America's image used to be a positive one. But since the neocons took control of the government, declared war on Iraq and have pushed their weight around, America's image has taken a beating around the world. There is a mean spiritedness, self-righteousness about the present conservative administration in Washington. And the world feels it. The sad thing, and also naive, is that these conservatives thought they could gloss over America's tarnished image with a glossy, bias publication.

A UCLA study has revealed the extent of the liberal bias in the media. It is overwhelmingly liberal. Conservatives say, see we told you so and say that this doesn't bode well for news gathering and reporting. According to them liberal bias in the press distorts social values and doesn't reflect the true nature of things. Well, I would say the opposite is true. I would say that the press is meant to be liberally biased because if it was conservatively biased the true facts about life wouldn't come out and we would have more useless publications like "Hi Magazine". It is the conservative bias in the press that does not reveal the true nature of things. That is why many of them want to take over the press, because they want to hide reality and paint pretty pictures instead.

The conservative bias and propagandizing displayed by the "Hi Magazine" episode reminds me of another time, of communist and totalitarian regimes. To get out their distorted, fabricated message those regimes would 'spin the word' and gloss over reality so as to remain in power. History shows that trying to corner and control politics and society in such a way inevitably fails. Not only do we have a front row seat viewing such a failure occurring again with the demise of Hi Magazine but also with the unravelling of the neoconservative agenda and ideology in Washington. Liberal bias may be exaggerated. But this exaggeration is really a defense mechanism against the persistent attempts of totalitarian, conservative bias to take control. Liberal bias, in a sense, is the guardian of the truth.

Bias in the media will always exist. Liberal bias, though, is preferable to conservative bias any day because it is more open and unvarnished. It also deals with the underbelly of society, something most conservatives would rather not expose. And by not wanting to expose reality, like the realities of Aids and homosexuality, conservative bias often has made things worse by covering things up, glossing them over and being in denial. Overall, liberal bias takes more kindly to being challenged about its claims than conservative bias, making for a more spirited dialogue.

The publication of Hi Magazine is an example of the naivety of conservative bias, thinking that it can improve the world through childish and parochial antics. To make the world better conservatives should be more outward and open-minded, like liberals and their bias.