Consider the source

Recently, I have been hearing a lot of talk on the idea that the media and the government are corrupt.

It irritates me when people say that government officials never have good intentions, and it is such a simplistic view to say that politicians only look out for themselves. I have heard over and over that a person cannot rise to the top without being corrupt. Certainly, there have been a ton of scandals in America's history.

Well, I can cite some examples how politicians are not corrupt, but that isn't the point.

Learn to think for yourself.

If your opinion can really be swayed by a few out of context examples written or spoken about Barack Obama, then realize that, yes, maybe Obama has done some things that contradict others, but who hasn't? He may be the president-elect, but he is first a person and no person is without faults.

Unfortunately, the media is also commonly labeled as corrupt. Media is what it is because of the audience that it feeds. FOX is corrupt because it caters to the conservatives. MSNBC is corrupt because it caters to the liberals.

How about taking the time to do your own research? How about realizing that the majority of things talking heads say on their shows are biased and are intentionally made that way. It is not news; it is their interpretation of the news.

As far as reporters not being fair in what they report, sometimes it is not up to them. Sometimes it is up to the TV networks.

People don't want their TV shows interrupted with the breaking news of yet another soldier who has died in the war. How many pictures and stories of dead people could you take, day in and day out, before you would demand a stop to it?

So, before people start in on how the media or the government is corrupt, they should ask themselves, what am I doing?

If you don't vote or participate in government, you should not complain. Even if you do vote, you should not complain. There are people who dedicate their whole lives to civil service, so you giving one Tuesday every four years isn't that hard.

If the media is so biased and horrible, why do people keep coming back for more? The media exists because we allow it, because we want it.

The O'Reilly Factor and Countdown with Keith Olberman are not news shows, they are political shows and it is their prerogative to have their own opinions.

We elect our government officials and we can oust them.

We watch these shows and read these papers. We can stop, but we don't. Certainly, you shouldn't make a blanket statement that all politicians and media are corrupt.

Do not believe something absolutely, because you read one thing or heard one thing. Consider the source.