52 Countries Have More Freedom Of The Press Than Us (2 Viewers)

[RebSaint]

Some people choose to believe polls, declining to question organizations like Reporters Without Borders, but strongly quesiton anything put out by our own government.

To me that's ignorant and delusional.

And maybe thinking in absolutes is being ignorant and delusional? Or simply casting off a study as blindly "Anti-American" without weighing in all considerations?

I don't believe everything the government tells me, and I trust some politicians more than I do others.

Seems to me one of the points of a free society is a freedom of the press. I've also concluded that governments which seek to really restrict the press have secrets which they don't want the public to know. I also recognize that a government is more historically likely to restrict the press's activities in a time of war.

One of the purposes of a free press in a democratic society is too keep the government honest. It isn't an either/or scenario here. Much of the media (largely defined) puts out crap--same goes for the government. They're both at times full of it. The choice here isn't whether to trust "government" or the "media," it boils down to nuances rather than just casting things in stereotypes and broad generalizations. There are some media outlets/institutions which are credible, and for my money, I think this institution has done pretty good work. Again, where's the anti-American bias here?

I don't blindly trust either the government or the media. But in a time, and historical context in which we live here in the United States, when I've seen what I've seen from the Bush administration vis a vis civil liberties, etc., damn right I'm going to pay attention to to these studies and give them merit.

Like I stated earlier in the thread, do some research--civil liberties--speech, press, etc. erode in a time of war. Some of it was necessary, some of it wasn't.

You seem to be under the impression that someone should just blindly discount the study because of some anti-American slant, and trust our own government to look after our best interests. Sorry, I've seen way too much to have that much faith in Leviathan.

Bottom line: I don't trust the man. [tm TPS]

 

[TulsaSaint]

Bolivia?
Bosnia?
Nambia?
Taiwan?!

Sorry. I ain't buying.

I don't understand on what basis you are not buying. Because we are the United States, and we are automatically superior to all those dirt poor countries who don't know how to put their pants on without our help? Why is it so hard to believe that some smaller countries without large military secrets to keep, without a spy network, and without a terrorist threat might have more press freedom than we have?

I'll admit, Taiwan being higher than the United States does surprise me a bit. But the other three? Makes perfect sense to me.