The Media is King

I was just perusing a list of books on sale I received via email from a conservative website. It included titles like “Rewriting History,” “Let Freedom Ring,” “The UN Gang,” etc. All of these are chocked full of good, weighty, well thought out information. The first thought that flitted through my mind is that while the information is available, unfortunately a very small minority will ever read it.

Even die-hard conservatives probably find it difficult to find time in these go-go days to read a book on the UN or “Applied Economics, Thinking Beyond Stage One” (a book by Thomas Sowell on the economic ramifications of public policy) or “Disinformation: The 22 Media Myths that Undermine the War on Terror.”

Like most, conservatives turn on the radio or pop on the television news. They read the headlines in the newspaper and maybe get through more than a paragraph or two in an article before flipping to the sports or stock section.

That’s not to say many aren’t buying, and reading, conservative books. The books hit the top sellers, so someone is buying them! I would imagine that many are like myself. I buy the books, but it’s a rare moment when I sit down to read a full chapter.

The “war” to sway public opinion is being waged in the media. Until conservatives have a voice in the mainstream media, sound bites from the so-called liberals are going to win the day. They know how to use the news to present a point without necessarily being blatant about it. The short, catchy phrases stick. Long tombs and intense arguments get tuned out. Books are nice but bullet points rule.

So what’s a conservative to do? Learn. Adapt.

We can’t sit back and say we don’t like what’s happening and go about things the same old way. Times have changed, the media is king. If we don’t learn to use the media, we’re going to lose the war for values, principles and patriotism. We may not like what is happening in the media and we may wish it were a different world. But not liking and wishing doesn’t change the ever-progressing world.

There’s a bigger war than the war against terrorism being waged in our own country, all around us. If we don’t learn, adapt and conquer we’ll lose our voice entirely.