Jackson Jambalaya

Ignorance is bliss. This statement characterizes the motto of the majority of America’s corporate news media. “Crisis at the border!” Media: “None that we can see.” “Islamic terrorists torturing and murdering thousands in Afghanistan!” Media: “Afghanistan is no longer in the news cycle.” “Grocery and gasoline prices are surging higher while store shelves empty out!” Media: “Today’s economic problems are high class problems.”

Fox News celebrated 25 years of news coverage recently. They were late to the cable news game, but quickly grew a base of viewers that more than doubles all other cable news channels combined. Nevertheless, the big three broadcast networks ABC, CBS, and NBC dominate television news with overwhelming numbers of viewers. 

But, who do viewers trust the most? A poll from USA Today and Suffolk University at the end of last year ranked Fox News as the most trusted source for television news. The big three broadcast networks fared much worse in the trust category with numbers in the single digits. 

Americans’ trust in media, government, academia, and a host of other institutions has been declining for years. Our choices of institutions depends much more on which ones we like than on any level of trust. We may not trust our choices, but we like them better than the alternatives. That’s likely why Trump won in 2016 and may be why he lost in 2020, not that election fraud may have played an undermining role. 

In 2016 American voters were fed up with big government and career politicians. A red wave swept over the nation from state houses and legislatures to the White House and Congress. Do Americans trust President Biden and Democrat politicians? Not really. Polls show plummeting levels of approval across the board for Biden and his political priorities. 

Oh sure, President Biden never posts mean tweets, and verbally attacks others only when he’s having a bad day. In fact Biden rarely makes more than a few public comments about anything, and even more rarely answers questions from the press. Former President Trump has probably received more news coverage than Biden over the past ten months. 

No doubt those who voted for Trump in 2020 are extremely frustrated not only with Biden and Democrats’ handling of … well, everything, but even more frustrated that media cover up all the piles of messes Biden & Co. have made so far. And, Trump voters routinely shake their heads when Biden voters are ignorantly blissful about how things are going in America. The only problems Biden voters see are people who will not conform to government mandates and who refuse to let educators be solely in charge of their children’s education. 

Middle and working class Americans are suffering the pains of socialistic politics, policies, and mandates. We should have listened to Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, when he wrote in his memoir that Joe Biden had “been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades….” So far, President Biden has been wrong on nearly every decision and policy he has made or annulled whether foreign or domestic. 

The academy has been teaching for decades there is no absolute truth. Is the academy absolutely sure? Ignorance may be bliss, but knowing and trusting in absolute truth is revolutionary and liberating.  

Daniel L. Gardner is a syndicated columnist who lives in Starkville, MS. You may contact him at PJandMe2@gmail.com.