Would I Have Voted For Trump? My Journey Through the Media

As I entered my late teens and early 20's, my interest in politics and world events was strong, but my understanding of the world was sadly lacking.  Then 9/11 happened.  Shortly thereafter, I was at a friend's house talking about the recent terrorist attacks.  She said the moment the second plane hit the World Trade Center she knew it was Osama Bin Laden and the Taliban.  I was puzzled by two things in that conversation.  First, how was this uneducated former model aware of Osama Bin Laden and the Taliban prior to 9/11?  Second, and more importantly, how was I blissfully unaware of Osama Bin Laden and the Taliban?  Why was this not talked about on college campuses or in the media? My desire for knowledge and information only grew.

So, as an uninformed product of the California university system, I turned to the only reasonable source for news...MSNBC.  In the aftermath of 9/11, the media scrambled to report on the Taliban and attach to their reporting whatever agenda served them best.  I remember watching Ashleigh Banfield in the Middle East, amazed at this woman trudging through hostile areas of the Middle East.  Other than that, however, I was stuck listening to the progressive, anti-American commentators that flood MSNBC's airwaves.  I quickly realized that although I considered myself a liberal, I did not agree with most of what these liberals were saying on TV.  How could that be?  

In that time I discovered one show with a different point of view, a show hosted by Alan Keyes which I believe was called "Making Sense."   That show really opened my eyes.  Although I disagreed with Keyes many times, I connected with his conservative point of view.  It was at that point I realized there were other opinions being shared through the media, albeit few and far between, and I wanted to root them out.

I began watching CNN, C-SPAN and finally landed on Fox News.  When I discovered Fox News, I was thrilled.  Finally I had found reporting that was geared toward my conservative point of view.  I could not get enough.  A bit later Megyn Kelly (at that point Megyn Kendall) came along and I developed my "girl-crush" as I call it. Being a young, blonde, female attorney, I could not help but relate to her.  Not to mention the fact that she is a kick-ass journalist with an independent mindset and a beautiful face.  I was hooked.

Over the next seven years I lived in a house where Fox News was on 24/7.  My ex-husband had it on all day, every day.  I really did not mind it at first.  I was already hooked.  Not to mention is was great to finally hear a coherent counter argument to the liberal assaults that surround us here in California.  Then Glenn Beck arrived on the scene.  This is what I was looking for!  Question boldly...and so he did.  My devotion to Fox News and consumption of what it was serving me was at an all time high.   

Then something started to change, not to mention my marriage disintegrated.  I became annoyed listening to Fox News 24/7, although it does give one an interesting perspective.  I started to notice the same reporting on the same subjects hour after hour.  From show to show, with some exception in the prime time slots, it was the same stories and same information.  I was looking for something more and then I got it.  Glenn Beck announced his departure from Fox News and his new network TheBlaze was hatched.

Full disclosure: I am now a devoted watcher of the TheBlaze.  The difference is,  I have a new appreciation for cleaning one's own house.  We must first be willing to point out our own mistakes, and the mistakes of our own "team" before we rail against those we disagree with.  I am challenged to seek out the truth for myself.  I am no longer being spoon fed what to think. I have to remind myself, however, to seek out other sources of information.  It is easy to listen to that with which you agree.  Therefore, I force myself to turn on Rachel Maddow or Fox News and listen in.  It is a good practice, no matter how much it drives me crazy.  And I'll be honest, I can only take it in small doses. 

As Election 2016 kicked off, I knew I could not support either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton.  I was honestly surprised at how so many on the right could support Trump considering his progressive record.  But then again, if you tuned into Fox News you might understand why.  While it was a given that CNN, MSNBC, CNBC and most all other media sources are in the bag for whomever the DNC appoints (Hillary Clinton in this case), I was ignorant not to believe the same with Fox News and the GOP.

As the 2016 Republican Primaries got underway, I could not believe what I was hearing from the "Fair and Balanced" network.  I knew they would be all over Hillary and her trail of corruption.  What was shocking was how they treated their fellow conservatives.  Anyone who supported someone other than Donald Trump, albeit Cruz, Rubio or Johnson, was now also deemed an enemy of the conservative movement.  My eyes were thrown wide open.  Apparently to Fox News, support of a constitutional conservative is not acceptable, even when the GOP nominates a New York progressive.  I began to judge others and I wondered how on Earth any conservative-minded person could so blindly support a terrible nominee.

But then I checked myself.  I began to think about my journey through the media. I used to be a disciple of Fox News and bought everything they were selling.  I started to wonder, if I were still watching nothing but Fox News all day, would I have voted for Trump instead of an independent candidate?  It worried me that I could see myself, someone who is no stranger to drafting well-crafted arguments, making excuses for the inappropriate behavior we have seen from our president-elect.  It's hard not to when everyone is playing teams instead of living principles.  Although I like to think that I would have seen through the desperate push for Trump, I remember a time where I may have been pushing just as hard.  It was a reminder not to be so critical of my fellow Americans.  After all, most of us are good people. 

If we are smart, we will use these times as a reminder of the importance of a free media.  Progressives in the media and academia love to attack America's founding principles and espouse that the Founders are out-of-date.   Our founders, in fact, actually understood the importance of a free press better than anyone (note the First Amendment).  Transparency and honest reporting are not only needed right now, but are necessary to a free republic.  I encourage the rest of you to hold all of the media's feet to the fire, not just the liberal media.  Check for yourself, do your own research, listen to other media sources and call out your own side.  If we only listen to the side we agree with and never check facts for ourselves, we become no better than today's university students consuming every word their Marxist professors say as truth.