With Democrats taking control, one of the biggest fears starting to emerge is that the Fairness Doctrine could be crammed down our throats in an effort to “balance” free speech. At the center of the debate is our own Senator Jeff Bingaman, a major proponent for bringing back the Fairness Doctrine:
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veF2KNlHW6w]
I can’t imagine a worse idea. Let’s reflect on this for a moment. We just had a tremendous Democratic sweep in New Mexico and throughout the country. That sweep occurred without any mandate dictating the content of conversation on a given station. People on both sides of the aisle should be able to agree that our current system works. If it’s not broken, why fix it?
Now consider the problems with a mandate of “fair and balanced” programming. In a nutshell, such a dictate is subjective, not objective. Worse, it is a subjective measure to be determined by the government. Remember my warning that control of government swings like a pendulum from the right to the left, and eventually back again.
I do not want extremes on either side (or moderates for that matter) dictating what I can and should be listening to… or reading… or watching. I can make that decision on my own, thank you very much. And based on the number of comments left on this blog by those who disagree with me, you can as well.
We should never give up the right to think for ourselves.