I was shopping at a local store the other day and they had Fox News on the TV, which sat right at the checkout counter. On the screen president Obama was talking about his vision of protecting Israel and our plans to dissuade Iran from trying to become a member of the nuclear club.
At one point in his talk, the President said that he would not rule out the use of force to protect the balance of power in the Middle East, especially against an aggressor trying to become a bully with the use of nuclear weapons. He had no sooner gotten those words out of his mouth than Fox News switched back to the studio and some talking head said, “Well, once again Obama leans on diplomacy rather than military might to control this horrific situation. No wonder Israel can’t count on us.”
I looked up at the man checking me out and said. “Can you believe that? Fox wants us to go to war.”
The man snorted. “War. Here we go again.”
“Right,” I answered. “And Fox News is now pushing us to go to war against Iran. How are we going to pay for it?”
“Exactly,” said the man. “Don’t raise my taxes.”
“What is Fox thinking? They want us to lower taxes, balance the budget and tackle the deficit and now they want war too.”
“Doesn’t make sense.” He folded my package and put it in a sack.
“And they even misquoted the President’s words right after he said them on their own network.”
There was a pause. “Oh, Fox News said we should go to war. Well, if it is on there then it is the truth. Maybe I need to reconsider.”
I am not kidding you, this actually happened. I was flabbergasted. In one instant he went from being no more stupid war and don’t ask me to pay for it to – ‘well if Fox says we need to attack it is the truth.’ 180 Degrees. In a split second.
I asked him, “Are you listening to yourself? You just said it was a stupid idea, until you realized I was talking about what Fox News said. Then it was okay. It was even okay with you that they distorted the President of the United States words right after he spoke them – live. You believed them and not the exact words coming out of the Commander and Chief’s mouth. What gives?”
He looked me straight in the eye and said, “Fox News is the only place you can get truth anymore.”
I looked at him and said, “I wish I had known you were like this before I spent all this money with you. I do not mind you disagreeing with my position. But for gosh sake, use your own brain and quit being washed in the propaganda of Roger Ailes. He has said he doesn’t care if they put out the truth or not, he will convince his viewers it is the truth and that is all that matters. Really? That’s what you want to base your vision of America on? Really?”
“Like I said, if it is on Fox News you can count on it being the truth.”
“And if they say we need to rattle the sabers and go to war, you’re now okay with that?”
He paused. “I thought Obama was saying that. If Fox News said it, it is the truth.”
I left the store realizing America is headed for some very dark days.
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