Questions

[BonosSaint]

1. Does "fair and balanced" require you to give equal weight and equal time to each argument or does it require you to acknowledge and present all of the relevant facts whether or not they support your particular point of view? Or do you define it differently?

2. How much does deference to symbols (the flag, the pledge, the anthem) say about whether or not you are a good citizen or about how you feel about your country.?

3. Does allegiance to ANY ideology cloud objectivity?

4. If English is your first language, do you expect when you travel outside of your country that information be provided to you in English?

5. Yolland posted an article that dealt with what is considered American. Do you have a specific definition of what being an "American" is?

6. How much faith do you put in authority?

7. Is there a class war?

8. Where do you get your news?

9. Is there more of a blurring of news and editorial content?

10. Do you ever play devil's advocate by seriously arguing a view other than your own? Does it change your viewpoint one iota?

 

[Dreadsox]

10. Do you ever play devil's advocate by seriously arguing a view other than your own? Does it change your viewpoint one iota?

Yes

 

[A_Wanderer]

1. Fair and balanced means having no stake in the game whatsoever, there is no fair and balanced media organisation, presenting the facts in an objective fashion is still able to get a point across. As far as people go, read above.

2. A good citizen in the eyes of whom or what - the government of the day?

3. Yes, but some ideologies are objectively better in terms of benefits versus negatives than others.

4. No, if there are important rules to follow then read up before going.

5. At first glance one may think of just having the name on the paper, but

6. Very little, since it is usually quite stupid, but we are always presented with choices of how bad our authority should be.

7. No.

8. Off the news wires through a wide array of blogs.

9. Yes, but if you have openly partisan means of delivery it is a lot more honest than insidious bias, people can make up their own mind.

10. Yes, I can play the contrarian well enough, I have changed my mind before and will probably again.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

1. Does "fair and balanced" require you to give equal weight and equal time to each argument or does it require you to acknowledge and present all of the relevant facts whether or not they support your particular point of view? Or do you define it differently?

Both

2. How much does deference to symbols (the flag, the pledge, the anthem) say about whether or not you are a good citizen or about how you feel about your country.?

Not as much as other things that are more important but for me personally, the flag is sort of a sacred object and I treat it as such. I show respect during the anthem too, that's important to me.

3. Does allegiance to ANY ideology cloud objectivity?

Blind allegiance, yes

4. If English is your first language, do you expect when you travel outside of your country that information be provided to you in English?

No, I don't think I have any right to expect that.

5. Yolland posted an article that dealt with what is considered American. Do you have a specific definition of what being an "American" is?

Nope. I have definitions about what being a good individual is, and that's far more important to me.

6. How much faith do you put in authority?

Not much- most authority is egomaniacal and self-appointed and has no real power. My personal moral compass is my authority, as is how I answer to God and to my own standards.

7. Is there a class war?

yes, see Hurricane Katrina's aftermath for just one example

8. Where do you get your news?

Newspapers, the internet, CNN, local TV news

9. Is there more of a blurring of news and editorial content?

Only on Fox News I like to think I can separate it all out myself

10. Do you ever play devil's advocate by seriously arguing a view other than your own? Does it change your viewpoint one iota?

It wouldn't change my viewpoint if I did it, but I like to think I am open to the viewpoints of many types of people. I am trying to be better about that.

 

[BVS]

1. Requires you to acknowledge and present all of the relevant facts whether or not they support your particular point of view.

2. Nothing

3. If it's blind...

4. I don't expect anything, of course I admit I feel more comfortable...

5. You must bow down to W!!!

6. Very little.

7. Anyone who doesn't see it is blind.

8. Internet

9. Yes

10.

 

[anitram]

1. Does "fair and balanced" require you to give equal weight and equal time to each argument or does it require you to acknowledge and present all of the relevant facts whether or not they support your particular point of view? Or do you define it differently?

In the truest sense it would require you to present facts and no editorializing. This is a virtual impossibility in the media, but I think some sources are clearly better at it than others.

2. How much does deference to symbols (the flag, the pledge, the anthem) say about whether or not you are a good citizen or about how you feel about your country.?

Nothing at all.

3. Does allegiance to ANY ideology cloud objectivity?

Yes, but the extent varies.

4. If English is your first language, do you expect when you travel outside of your country that information be provided to you in English?

No, that's absolutely obnoxious. I've travelled a lot and when I speak very little of the local language, I will try to find somebody who speaks English (or one of the other languages I speak), but I wouldn't go up to them and expect it.

5. Yolland posted an article that dealt with what is considered American. Do you have a specific definition of what being an "American" is?

No idea since I'm not one.

6. How much faith do you put in authority?

That depends on who comprises the authority. To quote from The Little Prince: "Authority is based first of all upon reason. If you command your subjects to jump in the ocean, there will be a revolution. I am entitled to command obedience because my orders are reasonable."

7. Is there a class war?

There are undercurrents.

8. Where do you get your news?

Read the local paper for local news and online papers for global news.

9. Is there more of a blurring of news and editorial content?

Depends on your sources.

10. Do you ever play devil's advocate by seriously arguing a view other than your own? Does it change your viewpoint one iota?

On occasion and yes.

 

[nbcrusader]

1. Does "fair and balanced" require you to give equal weight and equal time to each argument or does it require you to acknowledge and present all of the relevant facts whether or not they support your particular point of view? Or do you define it differently?

“Fair and balanced” can mean whatever you want it to. In any given issue, persons supporting one side or argument can always claim lack of adequate coverage.

2. How much does deference to symbols (the flag, the pledge, the anthem) say about whether or not you are a good citizen or about how you feel about your country.?

Deference plays a very minor role in the grand scheme of things. There may be, however, a correlation between such deference and the level of appreciation/lack of sense of entitlement as a citizen.

3. Does allegiance to ANY ideology cloud objectivity?

Too vague.

4. If English is your first language, do you expect when you travel outside of your country that information be provided to you in English?

No. My first question, in any language, is a polite “Do you speak English?” If no, I work within my abilities of the local language.

5. Yolland posted an article that dealt with what is considered American. Do you have a specific definition of what being an "American" is?

Outside a citizen of the United States, the behavioral aspects are just politically driven.

6. How much faith do you put in authority?

Romans 13:1

7. Is there a class war?

In the United States – no. Pitting classes against each other for purposes of furthering an agenda does exist.

8. Where do you get your news?

Newspapers, internet sources and local television.

9. Is there more of a blurring of news and editorial content?

Can news exist without editorial content? The very existence of a story, given finite resources and limited delivery capacity, is an editorial decision.

10. Do you ever play devil's advocate by seriously arguing a view other than your own? Does it change your viewpoint one iota?

I like to challenge the common viewpoints, especially if they do not stand by principle consistently applied.

 

[VertigoGal]

1. Does "fair and balanced" require you to give equal weight and equal time to each argument or does it require you to acknowledge and present all of the relevant facts whether or not they support your particular point of view? Or do you define it differently?

I don't think fair and balanced means a thing, I guess it all depends on whether it's a news program or a sort of opinion program, and since there isn't much of a distinction...

2. How much does deference to symbols (the flag, the pledge, the anthem) say about whether or not you are a good citizen or about how you feel about your country.?

Not much but I guess they do have their place.

3. Does allegiance to ANY ideology cloud objectivity?

Yes, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's wrong to some extent.

4. If English is your first language, do you expect when you travel outside of your country that information be provided to you in English?

I'd never demand English be spoken to me, but I may take the city into consideration when making plans (whether a lot of people there will know English).

5. Yolland posted an article that dealt with what is considered American. Do you have a specific definition of what being an "American" is?

Citizen of the US.

6. How much faith do you put in authority?

I do have a considerable amount of faith in the good intentions of some of the local authorites, not so much the federal government, fbi, whatever.

7. Is there a class war?

yes.

8. Where do you get your news?

bbc.com

9. Is there more of a blurring of news and editorial content?

yes.

10. Do you ever play devil's advocate by seriously arguing a view other than your own? Does it change your viewpoint one iota? yeah, a lot. it doesn't change my viewpoint to that side, but gives me a sort of apathetic, big picture, neutral view.

 

[BonosSaint]

Anitram,

Since there is often a bizarre competition between some Americans to prove they are more American than the next person, I wondered whether Canadians are pushed to prove their Canadianness.

 

[anitram]

Anitram,

Since there is often a bizarre competition between some Americans to prove they are more American than the next person, I wondered whether Canadians are pushed to prove their Canadianness.

I really never got that feeling domestically. I mean apart from buying Roots clothing during the Olympics, you don't see our flag that prominently displayed here. Also, we like to define ourselves as a multicultural society rather than a melting pot, so there is an open acceptance of foreign flags and languages here whereas in the US you have a scandal over the anthem in Spanish and Mexican flags in the streets. Just down my street I see a house flying a Canadian and Portuguese flag and nobody thinks anything of it.

Abroad, you will see tons of Canadians with maple leafs on the backpack, this is done to distinguish us from Americans, lol rather than some sort of internal pressure. Some think that people abroad treat them better (I think they actually do in many instances - I have had two instances in Europe when I told them I wasn't American, but rather Canadian and the response was "oh, thank God"), and some are just tired of the constant "All you Americans...." tirades at us abroad because we have the same accent and Europeans, etc can't tell us apart so they launch into an anti-Bush speech even though we have nothing to do with the guy.

 

[BonosSaint]

I was in Ottowa a couple years back and one of the Americans I was travelling with kept looking at the street signs--Rue this, Rue that. And he actually asked what rue meant. Do you think I could put a maple leaf on my backpack to distinguish myself from Americans, lol?

My grandfather was an illegal immigrant from Canada until his death. So maybe I could justify the maple leaf.

 

[melon]

1. Since the Fairness Doctrine was repealed in 1986, it means absolutely nothing at all.

2. It's a bunch of window dressing, if you ask me. How you treat your fellow citizenry says much more about you than devotion to a cloth. But we are, of course, talking about the difference between theological personalism versus essentialism here.

3. For most people, yes. But "objectivity" is non-existent, so it's kind of a moot point.

4. No, but it just happens to be that way, for better or for worse.

5. Any person granted U.S. citizenship, whether by birth or naturalization.

6. I have no faith in authority. That's why there needs to be adequate oversight to catch and deter any illegal activity by our "public servants."

7. Yes. The wealthy hated the relative class equality of the late 1960s/early 1970s, and have waged war against the working classes ever since.

8. No one source.

9. Yes, but every decision made in news is an editorial decision. There is always a conscious decision on what to put as news, along with a conscious decision on what to omit.

10. I'm probably one of the most contrary people I know...heh.

Melon

 

[BonosSaint]

1. I agree with Wanderer that an objective (and I do love his
condition of having no stakes whatsoever in the game)
presentation of facts will generally lead to one conclusion
or another without having to hide the inconvenient facts.
I think that as a whole, people are able to form their
opinions based on accurate and full information, without
being nudged in one direction or another.

2. I am ambivalent about symbols. I respect the flag and
the anthem (have no use for the pledge) as I respect the
flags and anthems of other countries. But I think that
symbols can be as divisive as they are meant to be unifying.
There are times when they are more important to me than
others.

3. I dropped any serious ideological definition when I found
myself twisting what I was observing to fit the ideology. I
was horrified at my intellectual dishonesty. I think it clouds
even those who think they are most objective. That being
said, I lean more toward the tenets of one or two ideologies
than others.

4. I do not expect to have English offered in other countries,
although I am immensely grateful when it is. I have a few
English only acquaintances, who came back from travel,
furious that the natives of the other country refused to speak
English to them.

5. I do not have a specific definition of what an American
is or is supposed to be. I find over the last several years,
that my definition of myself as American is becoming
less important. It is not a prime adjective I use to describe
myself any more although it is certainly one of the adjectives.
A US citizen, nothing more, nothing less.

6. Little to no faith in authority. Those who can, do, those who
can't seem to go into leadership positions.

7. I don't think there is a full out class war yet. I think there
are class hostilities though, ever increasing.

8. Sporadic consumption of news, although I am partial to the
New York Times. I love broadsheet newsprint. Internet.

9. I think the blurring of news and editorial is more blatant
now. Of course, it becomes more obvious the more
blatant it is. However, I think most media outlets
more carefully choose what facts they are going to
provide--which is editorial content itself.

10. I play devil's advocate all the time. Sometimes it changes
my thinking, more often it fine tunes it. I like to hear
people's individual takes on things (outside of the party
line) because it gives me different perspectives I haven't
thought of. (which of course is the absolutely selfish reason
for all my question threads).