On Oct. 21st, 2007, Fox Network presented a Republican debate. During the debate, Ron Paul was booed when talking about the Iraq war, even though he garnered much applause when speaking about other constitutional issues. These are strange days indeed. These occasions were, in fact, the only time I’ve ever heard Ron Paul booed. Not that I’ve watched every single time he’s spoken in public, but it was rather odd hearing the chorus of boos while he spoke. It seems that even though a huge majority of Americans want to end this war as soon as possible, those people did not seem to show up for this debate. I guess the live audience at this Fox Network event represented the minority, and a rather rude minority at that. It makes one wonder where Fox Network got this audience from. I don’t believe the average citizen in Orlando is any more likely to be for the war than in any other part of the country. No one wants to see war, it is a nasty, inhuman endeavor that has a tendency to devastate lives on massive scales and effects even the innocent who try to stay out of its way. The havoc it wreaks is nothing less than terrifying and the scars and resentment it leaves can last generations. No one wants that, except maybe those who seek to gain or profit from it.
Of course, Fox Network could never stack the audience in order to get such a response. I can’t believe for a second they would have stooped so low as to have screened audience members to make sure they reacted rudely to Ron Paul’s message of peace. Not Fox Network! Not the “fair and balanced” news. Why, Fox News is one of the most honest, trusted news networks there is. They wouldn’t fix the news to reflect their own point of view. They couldn’t possibly skew or spin a story or event to reflect the thinking of their management. Not them. Never, ever. Why, then they’d be engaging in propaganda, and that wouldn’t be right. No, I’m certain that the audience was just a random sampling of people interested in the political process and wanting to hear from the Republican candidates on a variety of issues and the rude booing that occurred was just an anomaly.
The first thing Allen Colmes asked about was the text message poll. He asked Ron Paul what he thought was “going on” with the text messaging poll. What kind of question is that? People are calling in and voting for Ron Paul, that’s what’s going on. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out, though I could see where it might confuse Sean Hannity who seems to sincerely believe, as he stated earlier, that Ron Paul supporters are somehow able to “stack the deck” in Ron Paul’s favor during the text messaging polls. An interesting trick, to get three percent to look like ten times that amount. I honestly don’t think it ever occurs to him that maybe thirty four percent of the people watching actually felt Ron Paul won. He also seems to sincerely believe that war is a good thing and that the terrorist “boogie men” might get a nuclear bomb and use it on us. Doesn’t he understand that the Iraqis consider the deaths of innocent civilians in their country our fault, either directly or indirectly, due to our involvement over there? Doesn’t he realize that it is our involvement that gives the Iraqis reason to seek revenge and increases the chances of terrorism happening here? Most of all, doesn’t he realize that the best way to mitigate the possibility of terrorism happening here is to get out of Iraq, let the Iraqis work through their own problems, and start trading with them peacefully and fairly? Ron Paul understands these things, and so do his supporters. As long as we as a nation continue to act out of fear, we run the risk of creating a self fulfilling prophesy.
Sean Hannity goes on to ask Ron Paul if he considers himself a more of a Libertarian or a Republican. Ron Paul answers correctly when he states he is a Republican who believes in liberty. Ron Paul has been a Republican congressman from Texas for ten terms. He is a believer in smaller government and a fiscal conservative, and that’s the Republican stance I’m familiar with. The neo-cons would like it if Ron Paul were a Libertarian and they could exclude him from their debates. Then the American people wouldn’t hear his message. The big government Republicans of Sean Hannity’s ilk don’t like to hear these types of things because they realize that Ron Paul’s message is a powerful one for freedom loving Americans, and they know they can’t win against such a message. They know that if the American people wake up and begin to demand that government honor their liberties then their power and influence is lessened. They don’t want to see that happen and so they keep raising the spectre of a terrorist with a nuclear weapon. They believe the American people can be scared into voting into office another tin tyrant who will crack down on our freedoms even more and maintain and even tougher police state, all in the name of our protection.
Fox News is promoting war, in my opinion. Perhaps they do it to maintain power and influence. Perhaps they do it for money and ratings. Perhaps something far more nefarious is brewing under the surface. Whatever the reason, it seems to be failing. Fox News is losing viewers, as are the other news networks. Perhaps the American people are getting tired of being told what to think. Perhaps they have found a better venue where they can obtain more objective information and make up their own minds. Perhaps they have found a truly “fair and balanced” venue. Most people really don’t like war. I believe we will find that it won’t take much effort to end this one, if the right leader is in office.
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