Too Much Control

I have mentioned many times how the mass media is directly correlated with politics. One recent post I did was about President Obama speaking about Trayvon Martin, and I believe he did this because the media gave the story so much attention. I believe this same concept applies to every situation our country has ever faced. The government, over the past century, has been getting more and more involved in the daily lives of American citizens. They feel it is their “responsibility” to tell people what they can and cannot do. While I do believe that the government should be involved in certain aspects, I think that they are way too involved currently. Why does the government even discuss certain issues such as equality, gay marriage, or legalization of marijuana? It is because the mass media hypes up these situations to the point where people start large movements in favor of a certain position.

As I mentioned, I do not believe the government is all bad, just as I do not believe the media is all bad. The government, in my opinion, is involved in too many aspects of our lives; however, I believe that it is good that they got involved in certain aspects. One aspect in particular was the Civil Rights Movement. The media during this time had been covering the movement on a daily basis, and this kept the people up to date and involved on the situations. Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) was a Supreme Court case that made all people “separate but equal.” This essentially meant that it was legal to have separate facilities for whites and blacks, but all men were seen as equals. The 1950s sparked a movement towards civil rights, which led to the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision, which essentially overturned the Plessy decision. Had it not been for the coverage from the media, as well as the movement from the people, who knows if the government would have addressed the issue of segregation. Thus being said, does the media control what is going to be discussed in politics? I believe they do to a certain extent. Here is a good article that talks about the media coverage of the March On Washington http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/28/march-on-washington-media-coverage_n_3814627.html .

Since I mentioned what I consider to be a “good” thing the government got involved in, now I will go to what I consider to be crossing the line. I am a firm believer in the constitution and people’s rights. It irritates me how the government wants to control everyone’s lives and say what they think is “right” or “wrong.” The biggest social issue our country faces today is gay marriage and whether or not it should be legal. I absolutely do not understand why the American people are letting the government even discuss this issue. A marriage is not between a person and the government; it is between a person and another person. Why does the government feel it is their responsibility to say what will make people happy? Even if the government creates a constitutional amendment that states a man cannot marry a man, and a woman cannot marry a woman, this will not stop these people from living together and being happy. With all the troubles America is involved in throughout the world and here at home, I do not understand why these social issues are at the top of the list. I would much rather hear our representatives discuss a plan to control spending and bring down the debt, or a plan to bring our troops home. These are real issues. I believe that we will look back fifty years from now and laugh that our government was so concerned about the issue of gay marriage. After all, it is not like people are wanting to marry an animal, they simply want to legally be able to marry the person that makes them happy. This article does a great job of describing government’s role on this issue: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/03/27/when-it-comes-to-marriage-government-should-divorce-itself/ .

In conclusion, mass media does a great job of bringing attention to big issues, which ultimately results in politician’s discussing that issue and making a decision on it. As shown, this is not always a bad thing. The Civil Rights movement may not have been as big if it were not for the mass media, and the politicians may not have even addressed the issue of racial equality. These kinds of issues are ones that the media should pressure the government to take control over. Social issues such as gay marriage are not something that the government should be involved in.