The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds of the masses.
---Malcolm X.
Malcolm X was a famous American civil rights activist, known for his forthright and clear language, who was assassinated in 1965 at the age of 39. I picked the above quote of his because it is so pertinent...not only for back then but especially for today...I wander what Malcolm would say about what's going on in 2020...he would be 94 now had his life not been cut off so tragically. We are in a presidential election year, and this particular race stands to be the most bitter one ever fought. We are also in a year of pandemic when controversial measures have been taken to shut down the economy and then gradually reopen it, in the process throwing millions out of work, ruining many businesses, and keeping schools and churches from assembling. And racial injustice, focusing on the recent murder in police custody of George Floyd in Minneapolis, has spawned mass demonstrations across the nation. All of these factors...and more...contribute to a danger of media manipulation and we "of the masses" had better start protecting our own minds with some overdue critical analysis before we're all swept away. I would warn my readers to stand guard against being manipulated by conspiracy theories, political correctness run amuck, hindsight analysis specifically designed to make one "side" look bad, comments taken out of context...and just shear emotional diatribes designed to inflame people's negative passions. I'm already seeing all of these on television...just magnify it all by several degrees and you have what's going on in social media. Readers and viewers beware...let's all step back for a moment, take a break from our cherished personal and political narratives, and start using our own minds for a change instead of letting others do it for us...
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