Truth vs Falsehood (20 page)

In traditional America, news media exercised discretion and received respect. They reflected an innate moral responsibility and were generally considered to be integrous. Editorializing was limited to the editorial pages of the major newspapers. In modern times, however, the implied objectivity of news reporting has come under suspicion, which was escalated by the Iraqi war. The argument is primarily between so-called liberals and conservatives, with accusations of distortion and partiality. Because the argument is relatively two-sided, each side, of course, sees bias on the part of the other. Therefore, the calibrated levels are informative in trying to ascertain the facts.

Upon examination and from the research data reported thus far, it is unlikely that anyone in our society is free from bias in their observations and derived opinions. This is merely a consequence of the structure of the ego and its associated brain physiology. Thus, integrity can be maintained if the reporting venue states its sympathies or alignments. The mere act of selection is already an editing function, and emphasis can be given to one side or the other of a debate merely by an extra second of exposure to a chosen scene, e.g., ‘perpetrator’ or ‘victim’, depending on one’s point of observation.

A more serious and misleading distortion is the consequence of naïve attempts to appear ‘fair’ in that undue exposure is given to deviant and extremist viewpoints, which are given disproportionate importance or significance and thus gain publicity primarily as a consequence of their contentious nature rather than their intrinsic merit. The repetitious phrase “but critics say” is usually spurious and the supposed ‘critics’ are ‘anonymous’ (or probably imaginary). This misleads the public to think that critics represent a significant segment of society, whereas, in actuality, they represent only a very small percentage, i.e., a skewed, rather than an imbalanced, presentation. This can mislead world opinion and result in serious miscalculations.

Broadcast network news programs declined overall in audience size and also as a result of bias scandals. The public turned to other sources of news (the Internet, etc.) but cable news showed a major increase, notably Fox News, and especially Bill O’Reilly’s
The O’Reilly Factor
program, which developed a huge following (they get 14,000 emails per week). O’Reilly is like a bellwether of integrity. He has an uncanny knack for spotting nonintegrity, and the rule of thumb is that if O’Reilly dislikes a public figure or a ‘cause’, it calibrates below 200 (handy for those who cannot do the calibration technique). Alternately, those that he views favorably almost always calibrate over 200, even if he disagrees with them. (In contrast, subjects favored by the Far Left commentators calibrate below 200, and those that are disliked or opposed calibrate above 200.)

Politics and The Election 2004

Consciousness calibration analysis is beneficial in that it clarifies ambiguities and allows greater understanding of complex social interactions. The overall consciousness level of the American populace is at 420 (America overall calibrates at 421 if government and the presidency are included). According to E. J. Dionne (Washington Post Writers Group 2004), the electorate is positioned as follows: Conservatives, 34 percent; Moderates, 45 percent; and Liberals, 21 percent.

By calibration, the overall average consciousness level of all actual voters was at 410 (60 percent of the electorate). The 40 percent who did not vote calibrated collectively at 190.

The actual voters calibrated as follows:

For reference, the Goldwater Institute calibrates at level 355, Progressives at 330-360 (Lyndon Johnson), ‘Freethinkers’ at 335, and the ‘Golden Rule’ at 405. Free speech calibrates at 235, the Patriot Act at 375, ‘Hollywood Far Left elitists’ at 180, emotional political diatribes at 125-165, statesmen at 430, ‘politician’ at 180, the moral majority at 245, and acrimony at 160.

President Bush’s 2005 Inaugural Address calibrates at 480, and the Inaugural protesters as a group calibrate at 180.

Diagnostic Scale—Politics and The Election 2004

The levels below 200 indicate defective reasoning, narcissism, and progressive inability to differentiate
res interna
from
res externa
. In contrast, above 200, emotions and partiality are replaced by reliance on reason, fact, and the balance that results from inclusion of context. As could be predicted from the above chart, all of the Far Left’s predictions proved false in subsequent world events (OPEC, not Bush, controls Middle East oil, business is booming, etc.)

The Great Books of The Western World
calibrate at approximately 450-460. People who calibrate in the 400s are called conservatives, and below 200, the Far Left. Moderates fall into the range of 310-390, which is reasonable, responsible, and balanced but not necessarily intellectual per se.

From a calibrated overall view, it can be seen that the electorate is attracted by sincerity, integrity, and humanitarianism that is both moral and rational, and that extremism and negative propaganda have a harmful effect. A well-designed political platform would thus target its prospective audience and align its agenda to coincide.
Chapter 13
outlines in detail winner and loser attitudes and approaches examples of which were quite overtly displayed in the election process and its aftermath.

Political analysts, such as John Leo (2004), were in considerable agreement that the Democratic Party had strayed too far to the Left into questionable ‘entitlements” (cal. 180), ‘rights’, and minority issues that were antagonistic to the views of the majority, such as contempt for religious and moral values. Extremism then triggered a backlash and reaffirmation of spiritual/ethical mores and public standards. There is little popular support to eliminate Santa Claus (cal. 385), the annual Macy’s parade, or the lighting of Christmas trees in Rockefeller Plaza and the Nation’s Capital in Washington, D.C. Note also that Christmas holiday shopping amounts to 40 percent of annual retail sales. The elimination of references to God is not even a tenable legal position as protagonist Newdow discovered after going all the way to the Supreme Court, which kept “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance (
USA Today
, June 2004).

Commentators asked, “If the Far-Left Grinches succeeded, to whom would we give thanks on Thanksgiving Day?” The idea that a more generic term like ‘holiday’ be substituted will not work either, for it denotes the specialness of a holy (‘holi’) day. Also, the calendars will have to eliminate dates, especially “A.D.” and “B.C.,” and dates will have to be removed from all history books and the world’s literature, but that still leaves a numbered year, e.g., ‘2005’. What does ‘2005’ indicate? The years in the entire Western world mean one and the same thing, whether it is subterfuge or not—two thousand and five years since the birth of Jesus Christ. What else could it possibly mean? Will secularists invent a new numbering scheme? (Remember the 1980s’ brief enthusiasm for speedometers and road signs reading in kilometers.) Even New Year’s Day will have to be renamed. “New Year” means “New year of the birth of the Lord, Anno Domini.” With the elimination of all holy days, will new union contracts be needed?

The secular Grinch does not like Kris Kringle, Christmas stockings, Easter eggs, or Thanksgiving turkeys. Also, the Far Left hates America so the Fourth of July can no longer be a celebration, and the National Anthem will have to be eliminated. Good-bye to
American Pie
, flags, or parades for veterans and their families.
Amazing Grace
will have to be eliminated at funerals. The United States would also have to eliminate diplomatic recognition of the Vatican and its ambassador.

Future presidents could not be sworn in with their hand on the Bible, nor could courts begin with “to tell the truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God.” Goodbye to Christianity, Bar Mitzvahs, Yom Kipper, and Passover. Yamakas would be forbidden, as would public wearing of Islamic headdresses.

Dereligionizing and despiritualizing society represents the emergence of another form of repression and relativistic fallacy of rule of the majority by the minority (90 percent of Americans are theistic).

Consciousness research indicates that a successful political campaign evolves from ascertaining the average consciousness level of the targeted population and presenting a platform and candidates that are in accord and therefore appealing to that segment. In the 2004 election, the Republican platform calibrated at 395, and the Democratic platform was at level 295.

Middle America calibrates collectively at 355 and could be described as moderate in that it includes conservative liberals and liberal conservatives, as well as the really nonpolitical, average, ‘common sense’ person who is simultaneously humanitarian but also practical and not given to extremes, feverish shrill ranting, or theatrical poses. Elections are more than just an exercise in dramatics.

In particular, the majority of voters is repelled by overt hatred, viciousness, and childish emotional displays (cal 135). They expect the leader of the country to be calm, rational, thoughtful, and emotionally stable, and to be perceived as a respectable authority figure. Thus, Bill Clinton was, and still is, widely popular and survived all the hatreds that were unwisely unleashed by Republican extremists. His political position was at calibration level 390 (i.e., popular). Disapproval at calibration level 240 is quite far from hatred at cal. 80. (To choose chocolate, one does not have to hate vanilla.)

Of interest and confirmative of the above analysis is the significant observation of unrecognized importance to politicians that the major trends of society are reflected by significant book sales, e.g., the major book of the current era is Rick Warren’s
The Purpose Driven Life
(2002), which has sold more than 17 million copies (e.g., more than John Grisham, Stephen King, or even J. K. Rowling). According to
Publishers Weekly
(November 2004), sales represent that people are looking for meaning, direction, and how to improve relationships. The thrust is toward integrity, purposeful self-fulfillment, and spiritual significance. The book calibrates at 345 and is therefore in accord with the rapidly growing ‘cultural creatives’ movement. A successful political campaign has to have greater awareness of moderate stability that is also interested in the individual minorities, but not at the expense of the majority. In this regard, centrist coalition as suggested by Senator Lieberman calibrates at 365. In contrast, collectively, the people threatening to or leaving the country because of the election calibrate at 175.

When we ask, as critics allege, if the ‘far left’ is out to destroy the country, we get the answer ‘no’. Their intention is simply self-indulgence. The ego inflation of ‘entitlement’ (cal. 180) is to give self-indulgence legal respectability.

News Commentators and the Political Spectrum

The media reflect the consciousness levels of the various strata of society and subcultures and therefore represent the political/social spectrum of the public and various positionalities and viewpoints that, by consciousness calibration research, are distributed as follows:

The calibrations are indicative of the balance between the conservative moderation of reason, with its constraints of logic, validity, proof, and rationality, in contrast with emotionality, sentiment, popularity, and aversion to the constraints of rationality and intellectual discipline.

The level of consciousness of America at 421 indicates that extremism is disliked and unpopular with the majority of the population, and that while emotionality has an attraction, it is not where the majority of the populace is willing to place their survival. Far Left or Far Right are therefore viewed as titillating or entertaining, but reasonable people would not want an automobile, or a house, or a doctor, or an investment that calibrates below 200 (witness the exuberant high-tech stock market collapse). On the other hand, the populace looks to politics for drama, and its living-theater productions provide excitement to offset the mundane responsibilities of ordinary daily life.