The ideologically motivated termination of Juan Williams by National Public Radio has drawn ire from many Americans. Government-owned, government-sponsored, and government-regulated media will almost always create an inclination to genuflect to the opinions of those who run government — which will over time blossom into full-blown kowtows to the powers of state. What has happened to Juan Williams is simply one example of what Americans see in PBS and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
The First Amendment was intended to give citizens the liberty to criticize their government. When government itself enters the field of public expression, it always opens the door to government using the taxpayer’s dime to propagandize for itself. The mutation of public education from a means of instilling basic learning skills in young Americans into an organ of government, consciously dedicated to the molding of young minds, is another example of how government uses our tax dollars to promote itself.
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What is true in America is true throughout the world. The BBC was for a long time the only significant broadcaster in Great Britain. It is undeniable that, at one time, the BBC produced delightful comedies, thoughtful dramas, and serious news and commentary. But that was a long time ago. Anyone who peruses BBC television these days will find a noxious mix of nihilism, obscenity, and sacrilegious programming. And its news programming is just as bad or worse.
There is no real effort to reflect a diversity of opinion or belief. There is no real attempt to provide programming that would appeal to Britons seeking wholesome entertainment, such as the All Creatures Great and Small series of 35 years ago or the brilliant, biting anti-statist satire of the Yes, Minister or Yes, Prime Minister series of 25 years ago. What is the rationale for ugliness and nastiness in BBC broadcasting?
The BCC maintains that it must reflect the sentiments of the average citizen of the United Kingdom, which has been in a steady drift toward nanny-state and anti-religious bias. The argument, of course, is circular: BBC has worked many decades to gradually transform public opinion in Britain into the depressing, freedom-fearing, atheistic sentiment which prevails today. Nasty programs like Waiting for God or The Vicar of Digby work hard to deconstruct values. Then, having gutted the real culture and values of the British people, BBC comes in to “reflect” this Frankenstein.
“The Government that governs least, governs best” — the wisdom of our Founding Fathers, once also accepted in the home island of Adam Smith. What would men such as Jefferson think now? The media is owned or controlled in large part by the very government from whom it is intended to protect us. The firing of Juan Williams is simply another important reminder of how far we have strayed from the Constitution.
Photo: News analyst Juan Williams appears during a segment of the "Fox & friends" television program, with (out of picture) program co-host Brian Kilmeade and Andrea Tantaros, in New York, Oct. 21, 2010: AP Images
