Moyer's Malfeasant Mouth

Frederick Meekins

For decades, Conservatives have warned the American people about the liberal biases emanating from the transmission towers of PBS. PBS, on its part, has always countered that it broadcasts nothing but objective, unembellished fact. It would thus seem that this media megalith is not aware of its own presuppositions or is intentionally downplaying them in an attempt to blunt critical responses on the part of discerning viewers.

It could be argued that each news organization is epitomized by the personalities of key correspondents. Few would deny that Bill O’Reilly embodies the propensity of Fox News to challenge conventional wisdom.

Likewise, Bill Moyers undoubtedly symbolizes the values embraced by PBS. And from what’s been spewing forth from the pen of this renowned journalist, reasonable citizens would conclude it’s about time the nation did something about this propaganda outfit run amok.

Writing on the PBS website about the Republican midterm election victory, Moyers makes known his partisan disappointment. But in the process, Bill does more than reveal the affiliation on his voter registration.

Moyers is especially revealing when he says, "These folks don’t even mind you referring to the GOP as the party of God. Why else would the new House Majority Leader say that the Almighty is using him to promote ‘a Biblical worldview’ in American politics."

Moyers makes it sound like a worldview is something only a pervert would have. Frankly, Tom Delay would have gotten more respect from the PBS elite had he been a child molester..

Whether he wants to admit it or not, Bill Moyers also has a worldview. A worldview is simply the set of assumptions an individual holds about reality and how it operates. A worldview endeavors to answer such questions as the origin of the universe, the nature and purpose of man, and the interrelationship of the individual and various social institutions.

The issue is not if you have a worldview; the issue is, rather, what you put into that worldview and what reference the individual draws upon as a source of authority. In saying he is promoting a Biblical worldview in American politics, the Majority Leader simply means Judeo-Christian moral values should be applied to matters of public policy; he is not threatening to impose a particular denominational ecclesiology on anyone.

Like it or not, government and politics are going to reflect somebody’s values. Bill Moyers certainly has no qualms interjecting his own worldview throughout his remarks daring Conservatives to promote their own beliefs.

Moyers writes, "That mandate [of the Republican Party] includes the power of the state to force pregnant women to give up control over their own bodies."

From this statement, one can conclude that human beings don’t rank highly in Bill Moyers’ worldview since he has no problem with killing unborn babies and thinks mankind is little more than a collection of biological impulses incapable of control prior to the consummation of the procreative act.

From the Moyers editorial, the discerning reader picks up that this influential member of the media has little problem with unbridled state power so long as it is exercised in compliance with his ideological proclivities. Of the Bush Administration, Moyers writes, "Above all, it means judges with a political agenda appointed for life."

Here Moyers is whining about President Bush’s campaign promise to nominate jurists who consider the law as actually written considered in the spirit intended by the Founding Fathers. Apparently Moyers prefers those on the bench who pull law out from nowhere beneath their robes and who harbor nothing but contempt for the inalienable rights of man.

In light of such one-sided comments, one trusts that, as an organization funded by tax dollars, PBS will open its airwaves and url’s to Conservatives for the purposes of leveling the philosophical scales. But don’t count on it.

In an attempt to provide a sense of balance, one viewer sent the Salt Lake City PBS affiliate a copy of a video entitled "From a Frog To A Prince", produced by the creation science ministry Answers In Genesis, to review for potential broadcast.. Instead of enlightening the audience by publicizing both perspectives, the station is quoted in the ministry’s April 2002 Answers Update as follows: "[We} have looked at the show and do not feel that we can use it for local broadcast. The involvement of AIG [Answers In Genesis] and the ... content of the show violates a basic tenet of Public Television ... We strive to avoid the appearance of any bias upon the part of producers... in an effort to guarantee a measure of impartiality."

If Bill Moyers is unbiased and impartial, I’d hate to see a partisan shill. By maintaining his front as an objective correspondent, in criticizing the outcomes of these latest elections from this particular perspective Moyers has --- in a sophisticated fashion --- heaped nothing but disdain and ridicule upon the values embraced by the majority of voting Americans who care about their country.

Since his sentiments clearly reflect the kind of media atmosphere PBS intends to promote, perhaps this network should be compelled to forego tax proceeds from those regular Americans its executives hold in such contempt. After all, The Discovery Channel and A&E seem to be doing well enough without a single government cent. Why can’t PBS do the same?

Frederick B. Meekins

American WorldView Dispatch

Copyright 2002 by Frederick Meekins

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