I’m getting pretty scared about our freedoms in this country. I don’t think that anyone is foolish enough to attack them head on but in little ways each and every day there seems to be an erosion of those freedoms that so many have sacrificed to preserve. And, I can sense a feeling that many people just don’t care about the things happening in this nation or at least don’t care enough to be outraged.



I read a lot of news. I don’t consider myself a junkie (well, maybe a little bit of one) but I do keep up on what is happening around the country and the world. And, I don’t just use one source. So, I think I’m pretty up-to-date on current events and can distinguish the difference between propaganda and news.



Unfortunately, far too many Americans don’t do the same. They listen to just one outlet (if any) and then rely on the integrity of the source for the truthfulness of the story. And, folks, our national media today has a definite lean to the left. It didn’t get there all at once (kind of like the Leaning Tower of Pisa) but rather it has been a slow evolution that many people don’t even detect.



As a disclaimer, my soapbox tirade is directed at our national media and not our local folks. I think locally, we have great options for getting our news and they do a good job of reporting. But, unfortunately, at the national level way too many reporters want to make the news and not just report the news.



You probably want an example and I’ll give you two. The first one is our ever-so-eloquent Vice President – Joe Biden. Now Joe has a reputation for having “foot in mouth” disease and it’s pretty undeniable – even to those on the farthest left on the political spectrum. Poor Joe just can’t seem to help himself. Often times a thought enters his brain and exits straight out his mouth bypassing the normal filtering process.



Hey, stuff like that happens to all of us. Now, usually not to the extent it does Joe but it can happen and it’s part of human nature. But, here’s where the slant comes in. Joe made a comment using a derogatory slang term for Jews. He apologizes and all is forgiven and someone says he is man enough to admit he made a wrong choice of words. Controversy over.



What do you think the reaction would have been if he had been a conservative politician and had done the same thing? Oh my goodness, there would have been wails of how intolerant they were and how racist the statement was and it would have been a news item for a long time. But, the liberal press likes Joe and “hey, he made a mistake and apologized so let him be.”



See the manipulation and the subtle way the media can slant a story without the majority of the people even noticing or caring? I don’t have a problem with the way this particular situation was handled – not at all. If, and that’s the big word, the media would treat the other scenario the same way. But, it doesn’t and therein lies the problem.



Of course, good old Joe didn’t stop with insulting the Jews. He continued with other insults to other allies and has now completed his apology tour. Of course, I haven’t heard much else from the national media and don’t really expect to so I guess the damage is contained and everyone is now holding hands and singing campfire songs.



The other example of media bias is the beheading in Oklahoma. A disgruntled employee is fired, comes into the workplace, stabs a co-worker, beheads her and then starts stabbing another employees. A company executive shoots the attacker, saving lives. How much did you hear about the fact that had the company official not had access to a gun, the death count would have been much higher?



The national media glossed right over that one. If they had spent much time on it there might have been an actual honest discussion about guns rather than just the side that the liberal press wants to present. The company executive saved lives because he had a gun but no one wanted to talk about that. I’m really surprised that there wasn’t a backlash from the media in the fact that he had a gun in the workplace.



I know that some people probably think I spend too much time bashing the national media. But, I don’t apologize. This is important stuff. Freedom of the press is only good if the press is actually doing its job. If reporters are editorializing and putting their own “slant” on the news then they are not protecting freedom but subverting it.



Kevin Wilson writes a weekly column for the Daily News.