The Quiet Conservative April 30, 2009
Who Will Watch The Watchers?
When asked what would happen if The Quiet Conservative did not achieve funding, the reply is
always the same: nothing. Nothing would happen. Events will continue on their course in this
country. This is shocking to some as I request their assistance in funding. I am not a natural salesman.
I have a need to tell the truth. What they fail to ask is, what the course of events are, and are they a
good thing or bad thing for the country.
The U.S. Constitution lists, in the Bill of Rights, the protection of only one industry: the press. Why
was this one industry so vital that it was included in the very foundation of our government? It was
because the Founding Fathers did not trust themselves or their descendants to govern without
corruption.
"Quis custōdiet ipsōs custōdēs?" is Latin for "Who will guard the guards themselves?" or, in the modern
usage: "Who will watch the watchers?" The Founders trusted the press to fulfill the function of the
watcher against the tyranny of improper government. The press was responsible to no one but the
readers. They couldn't be pressured and they couldn't be silenced. The press was independent. They
were the Huginn and Munin from Norse mythology made real. The press travelled the world gathering
news and information for the people just like the Ravens travelled the world for news for Odin.
That sacred trust given to the press has been co-opted in modern times by agenda driven journalism.
Who will watch now that the watchers are corrupt? No longer is the editorial page different from the
front page. The two are melded together so a specific viewpoint is reported and others that do not fit
into the political views of the staff are ignored, buried, or misrepresented. News has blended itself with
opinion and the opinion has won out. News has become propaganda.
While busy fund raising for The Quiet Conservative lately, the columns haven't been written for the
site. Since the site is a supplement to the business plan and not meant to be a blog, this hasn't troubled
anyone as not many people know the site is there. But, when looking over the archived articles, there
should be an acknowledgment of a perspective that is absent from the mainstream press that is
presented here.
For example, on March 23, 2009 there is the archived article "The US Public Service Academy." It
covers what is a noble sounding, but sinister, effort to educate a political class to run government. One
month later the Kansas City Star had a news story written by Mara Rose Williams on April 27th,
2009. The article was titled "A public service West Point is in the works, and KC could be its home."
In the article she covers the basic points of the proposed institution and the economic value it would
have to our metropolitan area. The article is seemingly without bias. The thoughts conveyed to the
reader that this is a great opportunity to bring economic growth to the area. Nowhere does Ms.
Williams question the motives or intent of the academy. There is every likelihood that questioning the
merit or intent of the academy never entered into her mind. Reading the archived TQC article,
however, shows that there is a lot to question. Who will ask those questions?
This is on the press side of the equation. But what about the receiving end? How are people being
influenced by their consumption of slanted news? On April 6th, the last article written, "Rebranding"
covered President Obama's apology tour including the infamous bowing to the King of Saudi Arabia.
While sitting with a friend the issue came up. "What does it matter if he bowed?" asked the friend. "It
is just a gesture. It doesn't hurt anything. It doesn't mean anything. What's the harm?"
My reply was to illustrate the power of perception. America went into Somalia and didn't provide
support for its troops. Illiterate gunmen working for ruthless criminal warlords chewed them up; as
they had no backing either by armor or political will. Fleeing the awesome might of twenty year olds
with rusty AK-47s the army that cleaned out the fourth largest army in the world in Iraq was now seen
having the corpses of its fallen soldiers dragged through the dirt on cable news. From this Osama bin
Laden took the lesson that America was a paper tiger. For this demonstration of weakness, America
received the profane gift of 9/11.
The world is full of evil people who are willing to do evil. They aren't misunderstood, economically
disadvantaged, oppressed by American hegemony, dissatisfied with their credit rating, or resentful of
our carbon footprint. They are evil people who want to do evil. They cut off heads. They torture and
execute political prisoners. They build centrifuges to try and produce nuclear weapons. They starve
their people while taking foreign aid to keep their military running. They shoot off ballistic missiles to
improve their ability to one day kill others and to blackmail people for money today. They look for
weakness in anyone they can exploit. They look at the weakness shown by the submission of the
American President to a foreign potentate. Yet, because the press constantly portrays America as the
problem, people doubt. People think America becoming just another nation is a good thing. People
don’t see the problem with the United States President, the leader of the free world, bowing to a king
on foreign soil.
That is the power of a gesture.
How does the press fit into this? It is the power of the press to either enlighten or enslave. From these
two examples above, you can extrapolate exponentially the course of our nation whether we get funding
or not. If we get the funding, then America gets someone to watch the watchers. People get facts in
the news section and traditional pro American viewpoint in the editorial section.
It’s not rocket science. The press has a basic role to report facts. Who, what, where, when, why, and
how are the questions the reporter asks. The artistry is in finding out the information, not in shading it
to suit a political viewpoint. There is nothing restricting having a viewpoint, there is only the integrity to
have it on the editorial page, not the news section. The modern liberal press has gone beyond blurring
the line between the two sections, they have obliterated the line in favor of naked advocacy and social
change. The press has chosen to enslave, not enlighten. They are not the watchers anymore, they are
mouthpieces of progressivism.
If we don't get the funding, America is fed a viewpoint based not on facts, but on a political ideology
that tailors the facts to suit the situation. That is what we see now. That trend will continue. Have you
noticed the slant of news? Do you wonder why some stories have dropped from sight? How many
stories aren't being told because of political considerations? If we don't get funding, you will never
know.
Who watches the watchers? Our nation was designed for that job to go to the press. The founders did
not trust government to watch itself. It is time now for a fair, accurate, inquisitive press to be reborn.
Our nation requires this to remain a free nation. It remains to be seen if the funding is there to keep it
free.