The Pernicious Paternalism of the Press

Oh, this one just got my goat. William Rasberry in the Washington Post has published one of the most patronizing articles I’ve ever seen concerning the explosion of political authorship on the web. Here’s just one little excerpt:

What has changed in the years since Gennifer Flowers, says Rieder, is that a handful of national newspapers no longer can operate as journalistic gatekeepers – effectively blocking stories that are unverified or unverifiable and driven by people whose political motivations are plain to see.

The explosion of the Internet leaves us, in effect, with no gatekeeper. Sometimes important information gains currency that way. The problem is that anyone with Web access can run any cockamamie story up the flagpole – and if enough people salute, prompt the mainstream press to deploy its resources.

It’s that bad – and it isn’t likely to get better any time soon.

Even if I was able to ignore Mr. Rasberry’s nauseating condescension towards his fellow man, how on earth would I be able to accept the Washington Post as a gatekeeper with no “axe to grind”? Give me a break.

Beware of men who look after your mind for you. Their intentions are nothing but evil. They seek to control the thoughts of men in order to control their actions. Never mind that this control only works on the cowards who avoid their reasoning abilities; their desire is for power and that is what is really scary. Of course, “it’s that bad – and it isn’t likely to get better any time soon.”