In the last few years, many of us have realised that the mainstream media present a particular view of reality. Whether it‘s gender, race, global warming, China or guns, we have come to know how the MSM will portray the matter. We are realising that we have been presented with commie-red spectacles, and we are learning to think again, and mentally make the corrections. Like the twentieth century, when captive Russians learned to read between the lines of Pravda, we are learning to see a world with more colours than merely the shades of red.
Seeing beyond red, means that some aspects of the world are in fact better than we have been led to believe. Reagan, Thatcher and those conservative leaders we were told were evil and nasty, turn out to be, upon re-examination, much nobler characters.
And what about the United States as a whole? Has the MSM been telling us the truth all these years about that exception to socialism? What corrections, if any, should we apply to our MSM/Hollywood-induced view? Did we notice the media’s lies at the time, or did they slip under our radar?
Here’s a quick check. Have we been led to believe that America is a violent place, with too many guns? Are Americans generally arrogant, selfish and materialistic? Is the place a concrete jungle of steel skyscrapers and highways? Is their patriotism misplaced and over-the-top? Are they kind-of-racist? Would it be hard to survive over there? Is their health insurance system sub-par? Would you likely be ripped off or robbed in America?
It is beyond the scope of this essay to address all of these myths. But I think you will recognise the picture which has been painted, and you will recognise that it is an unflattering one. I submit that, along with many other media topics, on the topic of America, we have been led to see red.
Before the days of cheap phone calls, as an awkward 17-year-old, I was given the opportunity to study in America for a few years. I went apprehensively, expecting a capitalist, moral-wasteland with all of the above characteristics. But I was wonderfully surprised. The people I came across were almost all decent and kind, and the systems, sensible. I was delighted that there was plenty of part-time work and that health insurance was easily affordable on a student budget. Over my four-year stay, I met thousands of Americans, and visited four states, but never once felt unsafe. I came to realise that both Americans, and the country herself, were much better than I had originally been led to believe.
It is not easy to convince anyone that they have been fooled. This Fourth of July however, I recommend looking beyond the noisy MSM, and considering the many decent, warm-hearted pumpkin pie bakers, who are too normal to appear on TV, but who invited a strange 17-year old into their homes.